Sabrina Stratford and the Wizarding World (Book 1)
by Jedigirl18
Summary: Sabrina Stratford always knew she was strange. Ever since she was little she could make odd things happen around her. When she receives a mysterious letter about a magical school called Hogwarts, her life changes forever. This is her first year at Hogwarts, where she makes friends, enemies, escapes danger, pulls pranks and learns a bit of magic along the way.
1. 18th October, 1970

I woke up on my eleventh birthday with excitement. It was a Saturday, which would normally mean I'd sleep til noon, but it's not every day you turn eleven, so I was up by nine. I could smell my mum making eggs and bacon, so I hurried downstairs.

Mum kissed me on the top of my head and told me to sit down, and I began shoveling food in my mouth. Once she and Dad sat down, they began their adult talk: politics, weather, gossip about the neighbours, etc. I stayed quiet, thinking of how old I was getting. _Maybe I should start looking for grey hairs_, I jokingly thought to myself.

I stared out the large kitchen window, people-watching. It's extremely difficult to people-watch, however, if there's no people to be watching! I got so caught up in the frustration that all the pedestrians in London had suddenly disappeared overnight, when I caught a disgusting whiff of something. I saw smoke.

"Dad, the oven's burning!" I managed to get out, just before flames erupted. This was especially strange, considering the oven wasn't even on.

We all jumped up, and mum and dad sprayed the oven with the fire extinguisher. I'd hoped that wasn't the highlight of the day. I soon got distracted by the mail truck heading down the street. I grew excited, as I always enjoy being the person to grab the mail.

I sorted through the five envelopes: three bills, a birthday card from my gran, and another letter for me that I didn't recognise. Laying the other four on the front table near the door, I sat on the sofa to open the strange letter. What was so odd about it is how it was addressed. It read:

_Sabrina Stratford_

_Small Second-Floor Bedroom_

_16 Shawfield Street_

_Chelsea_

_London_

The paper of the envelope was very old-fashioned. It seemed to be made from parchment, and there was a red wax seal on the back that had the letter "H", surrounded by a lion, eagle, badger, and snake. There was no stamp or return address.

I opened the letter, very curious. There were three pieces of parchment inside. The first one read:

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards),_

_Dear Miss Stratford,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July._

_Sincerely, _

_Minerva McGonagall,_

_Deputy Headmistress_

I was utterly baffled. I'd think this is a prank, but even I, who was notorious for being mischievous, wouldn't go so far to scope out where a person slept. I wondered how this arrived in my mail slot without a stamp. I continued to read, to see if I could find out more information. The second piece of parchment was a list. It detailed that students would have to wear robes, and there was a book list. My goodness, the kinds of books that were listed! I couldn't tell which was funnier, the titles of the books or the names of the authors. I nearly fell over laughing when I read that _Magical Drafts and Potions_ was written by one "Arsenius Jigger".

Finally, it would be required that students should purchase a wand, cauldron, and a few other items. Oh, and of course, I should be well informed that first years are not permitted to bring their own broomsticks, silly me!

I didn't believe any of this rubbish for a second. This was probably some advertisement for a cult of some kind. Of course, there was a part in the back of my mind that tugged at me. It sounded awfully marvelous. I mean, could you imagine? Going to a school to learn _magic_?

I decided to go back into the kitchen to show Mum. She was reading a book and had a cup of tea in her hand. "Mum!" I called, "You'll never believe what rubbish was sent to me. Read this,"

I handed her the envelope and she proceeded to read the parchment. After a few minutes, she handed them back to me and said, seemingly uninterested, "I don't know who sent it to you or their intentions, but I suggest you throw it out."

I was a bit disappointed. Whoever wrote it clearly put effort into all of the little details, and I really wanted to put it up on my bulletin board. "Yes, ma'am," I went back upstairs and started to toss the envelope out, but I stopped myself. Instead, I walked up to my bed and, lifting my mattress, placed it underneath. I let go of the mattress and went to go see what was on television.


	2. 19th October, 1970

I woke up early on Sunday, to take a walk before breakfast. I had only gotten to the end of our street when I saw the most peculiar-looking woman. She looked to be about middle-aged, with brownish-grey hair in a tight bun at the top of her neck, and a slightly lined face. The severe, business-like expression on her face told me that she was not someone to be crossed.

But it was what she was wearing that made her strange, though. An ankle-length black cloak with _robes_, and a pointed black hat, like she was a witch.

_This cannot just be a coincidence_, I thought. _Was it her that sent that letter?_ I turned to walk behind her, to see where she was going. I knew it was impossible, yet…

She stopped walking suddenly, and I felt my heart in my throat. She turned around quickly to see who was following her, but not quick enough. I darted around the street corner. I didn't know why I was hiding, but something told me that I shouldn't have seen her. I slowly peeked around the corner, and I gasped as she looked straight at me, narrowing her eyes knowingly. She stared directly at me for almost a minute. I tried not to breathe, to the point where my eyes started watering.

But then, to my surprise and relief, she turned and kept walking, as if nothing had happened.

I continued to watch her as she crossed the street. _She was heading for my flat_! I quickly sprinted towards her. If she _did_ have something to do with that magic school, I wanted to speak to her before my parents.

I stopped at her side, and walked with her to the other side. "Are you from Warthogs?" I asked straight out.

"You must be Sabrina Stratford."

"I am," Any sense of stranger danger escaped me in the moment.

"I work at _Hogwarts_, yes."

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"I've come to speak with your parents," she answered quickly.

"About what?"

"About you attending Hogwarts." Her voice lowered when she spoke the name of the school.

"Why don't you talk to me instead?"

"Well your parents ought to know where you'll be spending the next seven years." She said with a smirk.

"I thought I had a choice in all this, whether I'm going or not. And you need their consent, at least, too!" I responded quickly.

We had now reached my building, and the witch had obviously decided to disregard my last remark. She rang the doorbell, and my mother opened the door immediately. She started with her usually friendly smile, but it quickly faded as she took in the appearance of the woman. Her new expression was that of confusion. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth fell slightly open. Turning to me, she gave me a slight smile, but an unsure one. "Sabrina…?"

"Hello, Mrs. Stratford. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I've come to speak to you about your daughter's…" she glanced around, "... schooling."

Mum seemed then to remember the letter. As comprehension dawned, she looked to be at a loss for words.

"Excuse me, but may I come in?"

"Oh… I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Yes, please, have a seat." She stepped back, opening the door a little wider, and gestured toward the sofa and chairs, still confused.

I sat on the sofa with my mum, while Minerva McGonagall chose a straight-backed chair across from us. "As I stated before, my name is Minerva McGonagall. I am Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your daughter has been accepted to Hogwarts, and I was unhappy to hear that you instructed her to 'throw out' the letter."

"I… how…" my mother was fumbling for words, and I wondered how in the world this woman could know that, but she turned to me, once again, for an explanation. "Sabrina, did you tell her that? Did you _apply_ for a school for _witchcraft_?!"

I shook my head furiously. "No, of course not!"

At this moment, my father entered the room. "What's going on in here?"

"Honey, this woman is from that… school… the one that I told you about."

He eyed Minerva McGonagall suspiciously. "What kind of nonsense is this?" He's normally a very kind man, filled with empathy and dad jokes. My mum's said I take after him in that sense, which she can resent at times, as it's gotten me into loads of mischief. But he's always been very logical, very skeptical, so this would likely throw him for a loop.

"I need to speak with you both about Sabrina. She has been accepted to Hogwarts School."

He sat down next to me. "Sabrina, go to your room."

"But-" I sighed, when he gave me a look. He was seldom a serious guy, so when he actually was, it meant business. "Okay, dad." I responded reluctantly.

I headed upstairs, my mind spinning. The last forty-eight hours have been so strange. I picked up a book, _Matilda_ by Roald Dahl. It was one of my favourite books of all time. One time when I was six, I had tried to replicate Matilda's telepathic powers, by knocking a cup over with my mind, and it had actually _worked_! Of course, once I called my parents over, I couldn't do it anymore, but I had never forgotten that day.

I was trying to read, but I couldn't concentrate. I was reading, but not comprehending, so I decided there was no point. I was left alone with my thoughts for about 40 minutes, at first occasionally hearing a bit of shouting, or sometimes a loud noise, but eventually just soft conversation. I could catch a word or two here and there, but nothing really made sense. Finally, Mum and Dad called me down.

I ran quickly, wanting to know what conclusion had come of the seemingly endless conversation. "... so?" I asked, reaching the room, and was happy to see that all three adults were wearing looks of satisfaction. They thankfully seemed to have come to some sort of agreement.

Mum suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace. "You've always been a very special little girl, but now more than ever."

"Errr… thanks," I replied, though my words were muddled. I tried unsuccessfully to wriggle out of my mother's grasp, though she did loosen up a little, and I could turn around.

Dad was smiling, yet he still looked a little unsure of the whole situation. He gently patted me on the back. "We're proud of you, peanut. And your… abilities."

"Uh…"

McGonagall spoke this time. "You're a witch, Sabrina. You are going to attend a boarding school next year where you will be trained in witchcraft. Your first day of school will be September the First. I am Professor McGonagall, and I will be instructing you in Transfiguration."

I looked at the three of them, overwhelmed, trying to sort it through my brain, trying to grasp the concept. Part of me was scared, part of me was unimaginable happy, and part of me still didn't understand. It had all happened so quickly. I noticed that they were all staring at me, expectantly, waiting for a response. They wanted me to say something, but I was quite speechless for once.

I had so many questions.

"Trans-a-what-a?"

That was all that came out.


	3. 5th June, 1971

Summer is finally here! This school year dragged slower than molasses, and I was nearly expelled towards the end of term for my practical joke on my teacher. I had figured out, with extreme concentration, how to use magic to get a litre of paint to fall from the top shelf and spill all over him. He was seeing red, quite literally as he was covered in the sticky crimson substance. Mr. Bilston was a tough man who would seem more at home in the military as a drill instructor, rather than teaching primary school. Whenever anything happened to disturb the class, he would blame me. I'd be offended if I wasn't the one causing those disturbances. But there was no way to prove I actually did it without some sort of sorcery, so I was let off scot-free.

But that wouldn't matter now, I would be soon going to a school with people like myself. Professor McGonagall sent us a letter via owl… yeah, that's a thing apparently… that she would be helping me pick out my school supplies on the first of August, as that's when the wizarding shops start selling things for Hogwarts students. I cannot WAIT!

My parents are getting quite excited, as well, once they got over the initial shock.


	4. 1st August, 1971

_1st August, 1971_

Today's the day I get to step into the magical world for the first time. I hardly got any sleep last night, I was so excited. My mum, dad and I headed towards a small pub called the Leaky Cauldron. We ended up having to walk six blocks to get there, because the cab driver simply couldn't find it.

When we finally got there, I understood why. It was a tiny place, squeezed between two currently unused buildings, and I could have sworn that it wasn't there just twenty minutes before.

Once inside, I felt a bit out of place. Everyone in the pub was dressed in robes, cloaks, and pointy hats. They all stared at us as we entered, but I soon realised that we weren't the only people feeling uneasy. There were a few other couples with children who were scattered around, glancing around uncertainty. _They must be in the same situation as us_, I thought.

A familiar face appeared suddenly.

"Hello Sabrina. Are you ready?" It was Professor McGonagall.

"Yes!" I nodded excitedly. I must've been pretty loud, because a few patrons turned and gave me odd looks, before returning to their conversations.

"Good." McGonagall said with a small chuckle.

"...wait… where is it we're going?" I asked.

She smiled. "Diagon Alley. Follow me, you'll see.:

Professor McGonagall led us across the room to a small door. Past the door was a small courtyard with brick walls. We followed her still to the other end, where she stopped, facing the wall. Taking out a long, skinny piece of wood, which I guess was her wand, she counted to a certain brick, and tapped it three times.

I jumped back quickly, amazed at what I saw before me. Magic! The wall folded away by itself, opening a passage.

"Well, step in, Sabrina. We can't stand here all day."

I took a step forward, my eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," said Professor McGonagall.

I could feel the magic in this place, Diagon Alley.

It was surrounding me, and it was the most wonderful thing… looking around, seeing all of these witches and wizards, just shopping and socialising, and doing their everyday things, knowing that I belonged here, with these people. The crowded cobblestone street and old, raggedy building might not have impressed me under normal circumstances, but when the stop windows displayed broomsticks and cauldrons, and the people were wearing robes and carrying wands, and dozens of owls were zooming overhead, the situation was very different.

"Wow," came my mother's voice, which jerked me quickly back to reality.

"Yes, I suppose it is quite overwhelming to a Muggle… non-magical folk, but there's no time to stand here and gawk," Professor McGonagall said quickly, "Come, come, I'll show you where you need to go."

It _was_ overwhelming. And it got more so the further we walked. McGonagall showed us the wand shop, book shop, and various others that we would need for my supplies. It wasn't until I saw a young witch sitting outside a restaurant, counting out large foreign coins, that an obvious question hit me. How were we going to pay for all this?"

"Professor! What about money? Surely witches and wizards don't use pounds…"

The Professor slapped a hand to her face. "Argh…" she sighed, exasperated, "I almost forgot! Gringotts!" She turned in the complete other direction and began to walk briskly toward her destination, a large stone building at the end of Diagon Alley. I took large steps, trying to keep up with her.

"Gringotts?" I asked.

"It's the bank. You can exchange your Muggle money for Galleons there."

"Galleons…" I tried the word out, "That's the wizard currency?"

"Yes, as well as Sickles and Knuts," she said, "It's five Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon."

"Oh… I see," I said, but it was still a bit confusing.

The bank was _beautiful_. There were high ceilings and marble floors, and the place must've been ancient, but the beauty wasn't what I noticed first. It was the tellers. They weren't people. They were short and round and wrinkly, with pointy ears, long fingers, and a greyish tint to their skin. I almost wondered what they were, but it didn't take me long to figure it out. I'd spent enough time living inside fantasy novels to know. "Goblins!"

"Yes, Goblins."

"They…. Are they _intelligent?_"

Professor McGonagall gave me a surprised look. "Of _course_ they're intelligent!" she snapped, as if I should know. "Sometimes more intelligent than us. Trustworthy, as well. That's why they run the bank."

I stopped talking after that, and just took in my surroundings. I waited patiently on a bench by the wall, as McGonagall helped my excited parents exchange their money with one of the Gringotts goblins.

After we left the bank, McGonagall hurried back to the Leaky Cauldron to help another family, and my parents decided to stop at Florence Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour while I picked up my supplies. I was a little relieved about this because I was sure they would embarrass me with their gawking.

I followed McGonagall's advice and visited Ollivander's the wand shop, first. The shop was old and dusty, and when I looked into the rows of wands, kept in long, skinny packages like shoeboxes, they seemed to go on forever.

Mr. Ollivander was an older man, with a solemn face and snakelike eyes. He was honestly somewhat creepy, but I had to get a wand. The moment I walked in, he turned to me, and smiled, which calmed me down a bit. But what _didn't_ calm me down, was when he first spoke. "I've been expecting you, Sabrina Stratford."

I raised my eyebrows. "I… I'm here to get a wand."

He almost laughed. "I know. Now, let me see," he pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Well… I'm left-handed." I said.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured me from shoulder to finder, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round my head.

As Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes, the tape measure continued measuring me on its own.

He turned and handed me one of the long wand boxes. "Willow, unicorn hair, 11 inches, surprisingly swishy. Nice wand for Charm work."

I gave a small nod and went to my pocket to fish out some Galleons. He suddenly spoke up again, "Wait, wait… you have to try it first! See if it chooses you."

I raised my eyebrows. "Chooses me?"

Ollivander nodded, his eyes twinkling. "The wand chooses the wizard, you know. Give it a wave!"

Feeling a little foolish, I waved it around a bit. Nothing happened, so Ollivander snatched it out of my hand.

"Holly and phoenix feather, elveen inches, nice and supple."

I tried that one, and I knocked over several wand cases when I waved it. "I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed.

Ollivander dismissively shook his head, "Quite alright my dear, happens all the time. Try this one, Rowan and dragon heartstring, eight and a half inches, springy."

I tried. And tried, and tried. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher, but the more wands Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere… here we go, try ebony and phoenix feather, ten and a half inches, unyielding flexibility."

I took the wand, and felt a sudden warmth in my fingers. I raised the wand above my head and brought it swishing down through the dusty air, and a stream of blue sparks shot out from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light onto the walls. Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good."

I paid seven gold Galleons for my wand, and left the shop as quickly as possible.

It felt wonderful to be out in the sun again, but in my rush to get away from the wand shop, I bumped into a thin boy with sandy hair and almost knocked him to the ground. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, embarrassed.

"S'okay," he mumbled, and began to slink it off, but then he looked me in the eyes, and immediately straightened up and smiled. Shaking the hair out of his face, he introduced himself. "Remus Lupin," he said, and stuck out a hand for me to shake.

"Sabrina Stratford, nice to meet you. Do you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," he said, "I'm starting first year."

"Me too!" I said, glad to have something to talk about. "Are you nervous? I am. I only found out about magic last year!"

"Yeah. So your parents are Muggles, are they? I've always wondered… is it hard to live without magic?" He asked, a lopsided smile on his face.

I thought for a moment. "Well, I dunno. I mean, you can't miss something if you've never had it, right? And especially if you don't even know that it exists!"

He nodded, "Hm… I guess I never thought of it like that."

I checked my watch. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was nice talking to you, but I have to finish my shopping before it's time to meet my mum and dad." I began to walk away very reluctantly.

"Wait!" Remus called. "Maybe… never mind."

I turned to face him once more. "What is it?"

"Well, I just thought, maybe we could… shop together? Not if you don't want to, though! But we're both getting the same things and…"

"Sure!" I said, growing excited.

"Really?" Remus' face brightened.

"Of course! Come on, I was thinking of getting my robes next."

I smiled. I think I'd made a friend.

For what seemed to be the most quickly passing two hours of my life, I explored Diagon Alley with Remus, getting everything that I needed, and quite a few things that I didn't. We talked and laughed and ate, and I learned quite a few things about Hogwarts and the magical world that I hadn't known before.

Remus and I jumped as almost every one of the hundreds of clocks in Perfecting Punctuality, the magical clock shop, went off.

"Blimey!" I said, "I was supposed to meet my parents half an hour ago! I'll see you at Hogwarts?"

"Of course!" Replied Remus, and we exchanged goodbyes. I sighed as I knew the coming weeks before I leave for Hogwarts will be the longest of my life.


	5. 1st September, 1971

My eyes popped open at 5:00 sharp this morning. I stared up at the ceiling, a feeling of intense anticipation crawling through my body. It wasn't even light yet, and we didn't have to leave for King's Cross for nearly five hours, but I knew there would be no chance that I could fall back to sleep. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes a bit. This was the first day of term - my first day of this magical school called Hogwarts. I looked over at my trunk, all packed and ready to go. Inside there were all these odd things, like robes, quills, parchment, potion ingredients, and even a cauldron. On top was a cage containing Archimedes, a tawny owl that I had bought in Diagon Alley. He looked up with his wide yellow eyes when I sat up.

"Just think, Archie," I whispered, "We'll be on the Hogwarts Express in just a few hours time." The owl hooted and shuffled to turn around on his perch, putting his back towards me. I scoffed a little. "Rude."

Getting up from bed, I pulled on some clothes: jeans, a red t-shirt with a denim jacket and my black trainers. Tying my unruly blonde curls into a ponytail, I snuck past Archie, careful not to wake him again.

Downstairs, I saw my mother was already awake and brewing coffee in the kitchen. She smiled as I came in and took a seat at the dining room table. "Morning, peanut," she greeted me, "are you excited?"

I nodded, a bit hesitant. "Both excited and nervous, honestly."

After setting some bacon and eggs to sizzle, she settled herself in the chair opposite me, and stared at me with sad eyes. "I can't believe you're heading off to a boarding school at only age eleven… seems like just yesterday that… that you were… band new… so tiny, in my arms…" tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Mum!" I cried out, putting my arms around her.

She sniffled a bit, "I can't help it! All grown up, becoming a woman… soon you'll be meeting a boy, getting married, off into the world, having lots of children…"

"Yuck, no!" I backed off a bit, I had told her a hundred times, "I'm not going to get married… ever."

"Of course you don't think so right now," she said, "You're just a girl, but give it a couple of years and you'll change your tune. A couple of years from now and the boys at Hogwarts will be more interesting than your books or practical jokes."

"Nothing's more interesting than those, Mum!" I argued, shaking my head. "Except maybe this bacon," I countered as she got up to bring the sizzling meat before me. I grabbed onto a piece and began to snarf it down as though I'd never eaten in my life.

Mum smiled even more deeply as I ate. She got up and went round the table and curled her fingers around my ponytail, planting a kiss square atop my head. "I'm going to miss you so, so, so, so much." She choked up again as she spoke.

I sighed a bit, feeling terrible. "I guess get it all out here at home, so you don't absolutely lose your mind when I actually get on the train."

She held onto me for a moment more before taking a deep breath and busying herself around the kitchen.

A few hours later, we headed to King's Cross Station. Archie was snacking on a strip of bacon I had snuck down the hallway to slip into his cage. The ride was fairly pleasant, the sun actually shone and so the weather was warm. When we got there, my dad sprinted to get a trolley so they could load all of my luggage up. King's Cross was pretty quiet, with not a lot of people around. We stood between platforms 9 and 10 for a minute, confused as to how to get on to the platform, before I saw a bespectacled boy with messy black hair disappear into the pillar next to me. I grabbed my parents' sleeves and we went _through_ the brick, and emerged into a platform with a scarlet train and filled with hectic witches and wizards. _This must be Platform 9 ¾ . _

I was stunned by how much busier the platform was compared to the rest of the station. The wizarding platform was bustling with activity: students shouting greetings, owls screeching and hooting, crying mothers, and the hiss of the engine.

When we found our way to an empty space alongside the train, my mum enveloped me into a hug, squeezing me tightly, her eyes welling up all over as she clutched me to her, asking me to be good and enjoy the term, and to write her as much as I could. I promised I would as soon as I figured out how owling actually worked. My eyes wandered over the crowd and over her shoulders as she hugged me, and I met the stare of a boy down the way whose mother stood before him, saying a stuffy goodbye.

"Okay Mum," I said as the boy watched me. "I've gotta go, I wanna get a good seat."

"C'mon Jen," my dad agreed, pulling her back a bit, "Good luck, Sabrina."

"Thanks dad," I said, beaming at him. "Bye, mum!"

Then, with a wave, I turned and climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express for the very first time.

Being on the train was a bit intimidating. There were older students all up and down the length of the train, in little clusters of friends, chatting and catching up. It felt as though I might be the only first year on the train. I wandered slowly along, peering in the compartments, hopeful that I'd find an empty one, but every compartment seemed stuffed to full with students already. The only one I could find was towards the end of the train, and it wasn't even empty… just mostly so.

A girl with bright red hair sat on one of the benches, her face close to the window, palm pressed to the glass, staring out across the platform. I hesitated, but there wasn't really any other option, so I pushed open the compartment door.

"Hi," I said, stepping into the compartment slowly, toting Archie along. I took a deep breath, cursing myself for my awkwardness. "Is um… this seat taken?" I gestured to the bench opposite her.

The girl looked up and shook her head. She had tear tracks across her cheeks and her bright green eyes sparkled up ad me, wet and beautiful. "No," she said thickly. "It's quite empty. I don't think anybody wants to sit with the sobbing first year."

I wondered for a moment if she had a point. I wasn't certain if I wanted to sit uncomfortably with a blubbering girl, either. But again there weren't really any other options, so I gave a kind smile as best I could and settled in.

I was trying to calm Archie down as much as I could as I stood on my toes, trying to shove his cage into the small luggage rack overhead. I could feel the girl's eyes staring at me through the back of my head. I gave a small shush. "Quiet, Archimedes."

As he finally settled, I looked down and caught the girl's eyes. "Sorry," I hastily said, and I set myself down on the bench next to her. "I just bought him about a month ago, so he doesn't exactly trust me yet."

"It's alright," she replied, wiping her eyes. "He's a bird." she shrugged, before turning to stare out the window again. I looked down at the red carpeting on the floor, a wash of silence coming over us.

As she put her palm to the window and the train started moving, the compartment door opened, and a dark-haired boy with round glasses popped his head in. I recognised him as the same boy who disappeared through the barrier to get to Platform 9 ¾ . "Mind if I join you two? Everywhere else is full."

I gestured to the seats across from the bench where the girl and I sat. "Be my guest." I was thankful to not get sucked into her negativity.

The boy gave a nod, before stuffing his own things above us. His owl gave as just as much fuss as mine did, but once it saw Archie, it calmed down a little. I guess they could keep each other company. I gave a small giggle.

As he sat down across from us, he spoke. "I'm James, by the way. James Potter."

"Sabrina Stratford." I smiled, before giving a worried look to the ginger to my left.

She sighed, and not looking away from the window replied, "Lily Evans."

James and I looked at each other for a moment, and I gave a small shrug. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Lily looked over at him, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"Just… because you're crying," he pointed out. He had a kind, worried look in his eyes as he watched her.

Lily opened her mouth like she seemed to be about to reply when the door opened again and another boy walked in. I recognised him as the same boy I had seen on the platform, when I was about to board the train. "Can I sit in here?" the new boy asked.

"Sure," James replied almost immediately, and I didn't blame him. Lily truly seemed to be the elephant in the room, the rest of us were subtly buzzing with excitement about Hogwarts, while she could compete with Eeyore for the prize of 'Most Depressed'. The boy settled himself onto the seat beside James. "I'm James," he said.

"I'm Sabrina," I chimed in.

"I'm Sirius," replied the new boy.

"About what?" I asked, cocking my head a bit.

"No… not _serious_," he answered with a chuckle. "Sirius, it's my name. Sirius Black."

James and I looked at each other, going 'ohhh' at the same time. James opened his bookbag and pulled out a magazine and a couple of long, brown sweets. "Licorice wand?" he asked, holding them out to us. Lily shook her head, but Sirius and I grabbed a hold of one of them, and I bit the tip off eagerly. It was delicious!

"Do you two like Quidditch?" James asked.

"Love it," Sirius immediately replied.

I looked down, hesitantly. "What's Quidditch?"

The two boys' eyes grew the size of dinner plates. It looked pretty funny. "What's Quittitch?" Sirius said exasperatedly. "Why, it's only the greatest magical sport of all time! See, there's seven players on a team…"

The boys then started to explain the details of Quidditch, the rules, famous national teams, different plays, etc. It seemed like an exciting game, but the amount of information made my head spin. I was contemplating grabbing a book to read out of my bag to politely end the conversation, when it was abruptly cut off by Lily falling back onto the bench seat and sobbing her eyes out. That certainly diverted our attention.

"Is she alright?" Sirius whispered.

"Dunno," I whispered back. "She was like that when I got here."

"I asked her," added James, "But she didn't say what the matter was."

Lily looked up, as if to answer us, but her eyes landed on something else. "Severus!" she called out.

The door opened and yet _another_ boy stepped into the room. I shifted further away from Lily. They seemed to clearly know each other, so they'd likely want to sit together. This new boy, Severus must be his name, was thin and pale, with a rather large hooked nose, and greasy black hair that hung around his face. I couldn't help but notice a slight stench as he passed by and sat next to me, and I unconsciously slid further away from him. I looked at Sirius, who had made a rather unpleasant face once Severus had come in. Did they know each other, too?

Severus looked up, then turned back to Lily, and must have noticed she was crying. "Are you alright?" he inched closer to the edge of his seat and wiped a thumb over her eyes gently.

James decided to break the ice and chatted with me about broomstick models, but I noticed that Sirius had become quiet. He was staring at Severus, but Severus had eyes only for Lily, it seemed.

As James rambled on, I overheard what the two next to me were saying.

"I don't want to talk to you," Lily choked.

Severus withdrew his palm from her cheek. "Why not?" he asked, frowning.

"Tuney h-hates me," whimpered Lily. "Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." I heard her sob once more, and I gave a sympathetic look over to her as I saw hot tears run down her face.

"And we only just got her to stop blubbering," muttered James.

Severus glowered at James, but turned back to Lily just as quickly. The two's voices lowered, so I rolled my eyes a bit. They were being a little dramatic, in my opinion, and I wouldn't let them damper my excitement.

A few minutes later, however, Severus' voice raised with excitement clearly bubbling. "This is it, though! We're off to Hogwarts!"

The exhilaration in his voice was insuppressible and extremely contagious. I smiled too. "Exactly!" I replied cheerily. "Imagine all the fun and adventures we'll have over the next seven years!" I saw Lily smile a bit in spite of herself as she mopped her tears from her face with the corners of the witch robes she'd already pulled on.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus excitedly, "Then we'll be togeth-"

"Slytherin?" James said from the corner, his face scrunched up with disapproval. He laughed, "Who wants to be in Slytherin?" he asked. Then he turned to Sirius and I, a wobbling grin upon his face. "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you two?"

I shook my head. "I'd say I have a fair share of ambition, I don't think there's anything wrong with Slytherin. I mean, it's just as good as the other three houses." I had done a bit of reading of _Hogwarts: A History_ over the past few weeks, and learned as much as I could about the four houses. I honestly couldn't say which one I belonged in, I'd be happy with any of them. There was a small part of me that worried that, since I wasn't born into a magical family, that I'd get kicked out. What if they realised that they'd made a mistake, and I went back to London?

Sirius, who had still been staring at Severus, snapped to attention once the question was posed. Despite James' smile, he didn't smile back. "My whole family's been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey!" cried James, eyebrows climbing his forehead, "and I thought you seemed alright!"

I smirked a bit at this, and Sirius grinned. Severus was frowning severely, and Lily gave an unsure glance.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition, forge my own path," Sirius said boastfully to James. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James stood, his maroon and gold trainers proudly on display as he brandished an imaginary sword. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart!" he shouted, "Just like my dad."

Severus snorted.

We all turned to look at him. "Got a problem with that?" James demanded, offended by the expression playing across Severus' face.

"No," said Severus with a shrug. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy…"

Sirius laughed, "Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"

James and I roared with laughter.

Lily leaped to her feet, scowling at James, Sirius, and I, anger radiating off her as though she were putting off heat. "Come on, Severus," she snapped, glaring directly into James' eyes. "Let's find another compartment."

"How romantic," I said with a grin. James smirked, and Sirius wolf whistled.

Lily grabbed hold of Severus' hand and pulled him to the door. Severus stumbled as they stepped into the hall and he turned and glowered back at James. "See ya, Snivellus!" called Sirius, and again we burst into laughter as the door slammed shut behind us.

James began to take some snacks out of his bag and divy them up.

Several hours later, James was shaking me awake. I had taken a nap, which was quite difficult at first as the two boys had been playing keep-it-up with an empty box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, pretending it was a Golden Snitch. James' hair was even messier than it had been before they started messing around. Sirius was sitting next to Remus, my friend from Diagon Alley. He had joined us not too much later after Lily and Severus had left. A seventh year with a shiny Head Girl pin popped her head in. "Been told to tell everyone to put on their robes," she said, smiling brightly at us. "We're nearly there."

"Hey Andromeda!" Sirius said, clearly recognising her. "You got Head Girl? Wow!"

She beamed proudly. "I did. Lucius got Head Boy, too, so the family's pretty proud. Well, most of them. Some seem to think mine doesn't count since I'm Hufflepuff, but wotcher on them. I better go, got to tell every compartment. See you at the school. Good luck on the lake!" she ducked away, slamming the door behind her. The lake? Would we have to _swim_ to Hogwarts?

"That's Andromeda Black," Sirius explained to James and I, "She's my cousin."

"I don't know my cousins," James said. "Our family isn't too chummy with us. I don't know why. Mum cries about it a lot, but Mum cries a lot in general. Dad says it's political, the reason we aren't close, says they're dark wizards, and they don't want to get involved in all that."

Sirius said, "My family's all pretty dark, too. You heard Andromeda. She's looked down on for not getting into Slytherin house and on account she has muggleborn friends. I'm a little afraid of not being Slytherin, because Mother would be hopping but at the same time…" he looked wistful for a moment. Well, as wistful as an eleven-year-old can get.

"Well… I'm a muggleborn." I said, "What do you guys think about non… purebloods, they're called, right? Like half-bloods and muggleborns and all that?"

Remus looked up from his books, as if he suddenly thought the conversation was more interesting.

James snorted. "Blood status is such a stupid debate. It's just blood! It's got nothing to do with how good your magic is, look at squibs! There's loads of squibs all over the place, aren't there?"

Sirius swallowed quite loudly. "My family comes from a long, long line of pure blood wizards," he said, "And my parents are gaga for the whole concept. They've been long-time supporters of this wizard that wants to stamp out all the lesser bloodlines. They think they're royalty because of their stupid blood status."

I sighed as James rolled his eyes, "I'm pureblood too, and I'm not royalty."

"We probably have the same blood in our veins then," Sirius pointed out. "We might be cousins for all I know."

"Maybe," James agreed, laughing. "I haven't a clue because my family doesn't put a lot of stock in all that." He shrugged.

"That makes me feel a lot better," I said. "Who knows, I could be fantastic at magic, and Sirius you could be rubbish. I doubt blood would have anything to do with that."

"So you think anyone could be a great wizard, despite what they are?" Remus spoke up.

It was the first time he'd spoken since we'd exchanged names hours and hours ago. We all looked at him, startled looks on our faces. "Yeah," James said, "If you can perform magic, why not? Anyone who can do magic and goes to Hogwarts is on an equal playing field with me as far as I'm concerned. I don't know any more magic than anyone else on this train for being pureblood."

"I'm a half-blood," Remus said, "My mum's a Muggle and my dad's a wizard. He works at the ministry."

Sirius thought for a moment. "You said your name was Remus Lupin, right?"

Remus nodded.

"Your dad must be Lyall Lupin, the one who wrote the Werewolf Restriction Act of 1963?"

Remus nodded again.

"Well that's cool," Sirius said. "My uncle Abraxus Malfoy works at the ministry, too."

"So, werewolves exist too?" I said, getting a little nervous. Remus too, became rather pale. He must be scared of them, as well. "That's pretty freaky. Next they'll be saying that there's vampires, mummies, and the Loch Ness Monster!"

James snickered. "Hate to break it to you, Miss Muggleborn, but those are all real as well. At least, I think the Loch Ness Monster is real."

Sirius piped in. "I know there's a giant squid in the lake at Hogwarts! Maybe we can ask it!"

We all laughed, interrupted by the door opening again and Andromeda sticking her head back in, glowering. "You lot need to put your school robes on! We're pulling up to Hogsmeade Station now!" As though to punctuate her words, the train shuddered to a halt and they could hear the steamy hiss of the engine coming to a stop. She bolted away, and I could hear her shouts down the corridor, in a hasty attempt to get things organised.

James snatched his robes off the cage holding his owl, Remus dug his up from the knapsack at his feet. Sirius had his on already, and I got mine by moving Archie's cage over, much to his chagrin. We pulled our luggage down from the overhead racks and shuffled together through the crowded train out to the platform at Hogsmeade. Other students were rushing everywhere, bolting around through the dark under the street lamps.

"Where do we go?" I asked rather cluelessly, looking at Sirius. He seemed to know a great deal about Hogwarts already, probably from his extensive family.

"I don't know," he replied lamely. Fantastic.

All of a sudden a deep cockney voice bellowed through the crowd. "Firs' years, over here! Firs' years, over here!"

"There…" Remus pointed over the crowd to a giant of a man… he had to be over three meters tall! He was waving and shouting. The majority of the crowd was going the opposite way of the man, so getting over to him was a bit like swimming upstream a powerful river. Remus fortunately led the way, followed by James, me, and Sirius all the way to where the giant man was standing with a clipboard that was just as huge, which he was making tick marks upon as other first years collected around his feet. He had unruly hair that very nearly covered his entire face and beady black eyes that peered out from beneath all of the hair.

I looked around and spotted Lily and Severus not too far away, and a funny feeling came over me as I saw tear streaks still staining her face, her hand wrapped tightly around Severus' hand. I don't think either of them spotted that I was looking, and I turned away to see James staring at them as well. He raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged, as if to say _I don't know why she didn't calm down_.

"Firs' years, come with me," the giant man called, leading the way off the station platform and down a roughly hewn path through a clump of trees. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid," he called over our whispers as we walked. "I'm the keeper o' the keys an' grounds at Hogwarts an' it's my job ter git you lot safely ter the school." He led us out onto a pier and suddenly across the lake I could see the ghostly black shape of the castle against the dark blue of the sky, and the wisps of grey clouds that hung around the waning three-quarter moon, all reflecting in a great dark lake that seemed to be made of pure ink in the night. Hagrid waved a dust bin lid-size hand at a little flock of wood row boats. "Climb aboard," he instructed to us.

"He's mad," whispered a couple of the first years. I grinned with excitement.

It took a bit for us all to get into the boats but soon James, Sirius, Remus and I were huddled together in a little boat along with a couple of other first years that we hadn't met on the train. And so, the little boats set off across the water at Hagrid's command, sailing for the great castle in the distance.

The boats were very unsteady on the slick black lake. They wobbled side to side as Hagrid magicked them across the water toward the castle. I saw Sirius hold a hand over his stomach as we floated along, rocking, and murmured, "I wish I hadn't eaten all those sweets!"

I nodded in agreement, feeling a bit green about the gills myself.

"Well if you two go puking, make sure you do it over the edge of the boat," James instructed, a nervous look on his face.

"The water's actually really calm tonight, we're lucky. Usually this size boat gets really choppy," Remus said. We gave him surprised looks, wondering how he'd know that. "My dad and I used to go fishing with my uncle on my mum's side and his son," he explained. He added to James and Sirius, "It's a Muggle pastime, fishing. They just go fishing for the fun of it. It's some sort of bonding ritual, I guess."

"Yeah, my dad said he went fishing with my grandfather a lot when he was younger," I said. "I never really enjoyed it much, too much sitting around doing nothing for my taste."

"Blimey," James said, eyes wide, "They do this for the fun of it?"

"And they have to manually row to make it move on top of that," Remus said, nodding.

"Nutters," Sirius said cheekily. I jabbed my elbow in his side, as that was pretty rude. I forgot that his stomach was so sensitive at the moment however, as he quickly leaned over the side of the boat and was sick all in the water. James and I laughed a bit, and I noticed Severus and Lily in the boat next to us. Severus was glaring at us, his head inclined as though he was listening in on our conversation. How rude! He should just keep his abnormally large nose out of other peoples' business.

"Some do it for food," Remus continued, and I turned back to face him. "But most do it just for fun."

Sirius smirked as he turned back as well. "Hear that, Snivelly?" he asked, "You could go fishing next time you're feeling hungry back home. Keep it in mind, ey?"

I looked over once more to see his reaction, and Severus' face, which was already quite pale on its own, was actually even paler in the moonlight, but his scowl was no less pronounced… perhaps even more so in the contrast of it. It was Lily though, that turned around, her eyes squinting in anger at us. "Just ignore them, Sev, they're just a bunch of bullying prats!"

"I didn't even say anything!" James snapped defensively.

Lily replied, "You didn't tell him not to say anything either!"

I rolled my eyes, "What, is he supposed to control the mouths of everyone at Hogwarts?"

Lily shrugged. "Maybe he could just pick his friends a little wiser."

I huffed, "Ex_cuse_ me? I didn't say anything either!"

"Why don't _you_ pick your friends wiser?" Sirius replied hotly, "I'm sure you could've done loads better than Severus Snape."

Lily scowled and turned her back to us. Seems to be that scowling is her default expression at this point.

"What was that all about?" Remus asked. The other two first years in the boat, who had spent most of the journey across whispering to each other quietly, looked equally disquieted by the exchange.

James replied, "That girl is just batty."

I agreed, "I don't think she's capable of not crying for more than five minutes. Wouldn't be surprised if she was blubbering to that greaseball about how awful we are."

Sirius nodded, "Anyone wanting to be 'round Severus Snape would have to be."

Remus gave us an almost disappointed look, but didn't say anything. I felt a small twinge of guilt in my chest, but it soon was replaced by the excitement of coming to Hogwarts finally.

The little boats continued on, Hagrid oblivious to the growing animosity between the two boats, and soon we were right at the very foot of the castle. The rocking had slowed now that we were closer to the shore, and Sirius clearly looked thankful for that. We glided into what looked like a low cliff that brought us beneath the castle itself and into a sort of dungeon-like boat dock. One by one, the boats skirted the edge of a large stone landing and Hagrid, who'd gotten ashore first, helped all of us out and onto the ground.

"A'right then," Hagrid said, counting up the little boats to make sure nobody had been lost out on the water, "Yeh ready fer the sortin', you lot?" he looked around at them, "Mus' be excited. I remember me own sortin'... seems like ages ago…" Careful not to trod on any of us tiny first years, he made his way to the door opposite the boats and herded us through it into a long corridor, past stationary suits of armour and paintings and what seemed like a million wooden doors. We made our way up a long staircase and found ourselves in a narrow little room where we all crowded around behind Hagrid. He looked us over, waiting for the last of the first years to arrive into the group, and said "Now yer ta wait here. Professor McGonagall will be comin' round fer yeh in a mo'. Nice lady, she is. She'll bring yeh in ter the Hall ter be sorted. Good luck, the lot of yeh!" He grinned under a mountain of hair that would make a lion jealous, before turning and walking away.

We all looked around at each other, a nervous energy suddenly filtering through us. Sirius looked at James, Remus and I. "I'm so bloody nervous."

"Same," I said.

"Me too," James admitted.

"And I," agreed Remus.

I could feel my palms begin to sweat as the door opened. We all looked up to see a witch with long brain hair that hung in a braid over her shoulder, and I recognised Professor McGonagall, which quelled my nerves a bit. She wore emerald green robes and a tall pointed hat, and smiled at us in a friendly sort of way. "My name is Minerva McGonagall," she announced in a scottish accent, "And I'm here to bring you all into the Sorting Ceremony. You will follow me out this doorway into the Great Hall, where the other students have had a seat at their house tables, and one by one you will be sorted. Once you have been sorted, you will go and sit at your respective house table, where you will meet the rest of your house members and we will all enjoy the start of term feast." Her eyes twinkled. "I have heard," she added, "That the house elves of Hogwarts have quite outdone themselves with the meal this year, so please, give us no troubles, so that we may all sit down and eat as quickly as possible."

There was a muttering assent through all of us first years, and Professor McGonagall turned and led us through the door and into a wide room, decorated with banners that bore what I remembered to be the Hogwarts crest. It featured a lion, eagle, badger, and snake. Standing up at the head of the room was a long table with a bunch of teachers seated at it, looking on joyfully as the lot of us first years shuffled by behind McGonagall. In the centre stood a large podium and behind it was a middle-aged wizard with a long greying beard, wearing purple robes flecked with silver stars. He smiled as we walked in, peering at us through half-moon spectacles. He reminded me a bit of how I visualised Gandalf when I read the _Lord of the Rings _series. Gentle, but powerful.

"Is that Dumbledore?" I whispered to Remus, who nodded.

McGonagall led us to the centre of the front of the hall, facing the teachers, and stopped us there, before going to the corner and bringing over a short, three legged stool and a worn out old brown hat that looked quite pathetic. She put the hat on the stool and stepped back.

There was a long pause of silence, everyone around the hall staring expectantly at the hat. I was quite confused, but Sirius whispered to us that "It's a magic hat, it is," I looked over to him with James and Remus, "It can read your mind, like, and tell you what house you belong in." I was amazed, turning back and staring at the hat.

Suddenly, the brim split open and the hat seemed to come to life. It then began to sing:

_A thousand years or more ago,_

_When I was newly sewn,_

_There lived four wizards of renown,_

_Whose names are still well known:_

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_

_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

_Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,_

_They hatched a daring plan_

_To educate young sorcerers_

_Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders_

_Formed their own house, for each_

_Did value different virtues_

_In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

_Prized far beyond the rest;_

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

_Would always be the best;_

_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

_Most worthy of admission;_

_And power-hungry Slytherin_

_Loved those of great ambition._

_While still alive they did divide_

_Their favorites from the throng,_

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

_When they were dead and gone?_

_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_

_He whipped me off his head_

_The founders put some brains in me_

_So I could choose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind_

_And tell where you belong!_

Everyone clapped in the entire hall, and the applause echoed off the ceiling and walls. I felt filled with a new determination. It seemed all the first years felt that way, as we shuffled forward as McGonagall opened a scroll and read off the first name: "Abbot, Gifford!" the hat was placed on its head, and the hat suddenly yelled out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" the blonde boy turned beet red, and shuffled over to the Hufflepuff table as they cheered for him

Obviously, Sirius didn't have long to wait. "Black, Sirius!"

Once his name was called a refined cheer came from the Slytherin table. Andromeda stood up from the Hufflepuff table and shouted "Go on, Sirius!" at the top of her lungs, clapping wildly. I gave a small giggle, a thumbs-up to Sirius.

The hat was soon set upon him. It seemed like everyone was waiting in silence, before the hat chuckled it itself, before bellowing out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was lifted off his head, and I looked at the tables around him. The Slytherins looked absolutely stunned, and there were frowns and shaking heads throughout the table. Even Andromeda's eyes were wide with surprise, but a bit of sparkle and a hint of a grin was crawling across her face. The Head Boy, who sat at the Slytherin table had initially stood up, prepared to welcome the first of the new first years to Slytherin. He looked like he had just eaten a lemon, and he glared, flipping his long blond hair before sitting down, steaming. It was quite funny, in all actuality.

The Gryffindor table, however, had gone ballistic, screaming and waving their hands, beckoning Sirius to them. Sirius was grinning as he scrambled from the stool and rushed over, joining an older boy with flaming red hair and freckles at the table.

A few more students were sorted - Carin, Dorothy and Drewer, Penelope went to Ravenclaw- and then Professor McGonagall called, "Evans, Lily!"

I saw Lily nervously climb the steps to the stool and sit down gingerly upon it, before McGonagall dropped the hat on her head, covering her whole face. There was quite a pregnant pause, even longer than when Sirius had the hat on, before the hat eventually called "GRYFFINDOR!"

Seriously? I personally didn't see an ounce of bravery in that girl, I had expected her to end up in Hufflepuff for sure. It seemed like a strong wind would blow her over, she was so sensetive.

And it seemed that Lily was just as confused as Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off her head. She simply sat there on the stool, utterly perplexed, her palms on her thighs, blinking into the bright light of the Great Hall. The Gryffindors had all stood up and began cheering and punching the air with enthusiasm. I looked over to where she had previously been standing with Severus and saw a heartbroken, lost look upon his face. I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

McGonagall had to shoo her over towards the Gryffindor table, and he nodded rather numbly and started for the cheering Gryffindors, glancing back at Severus and trying to force a smile, before quickly looking away. Seemed like she was going to cry for the billionth time that day. Sirius moved down on the bench to give the girl some space.

As the sorting continued, Remus and James were sorted into Gryffindor, as well. I was a bit surprised at the former's result, as I half-expected that he and I would be in Ravenclaw together.

After Severus had obviously been sorted into Slytherin, it was my turn. "Stratford, Sabrina!" Time seemed to stop. I looked towards James for some encouragement and he grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. My palms became sweaty, my knees weak and legs heavy.

I climbed up the steps to the stool and quickly plopped down. McGonagall smiled down at me, "There you are, m'deary," she said, her scottish accent lilting the words. Despite the harshness of her face, Professor McGonagall had a really kind smile, as she had showed me such kindness when letting me into the magical world, which was rather comforting, so I smiled back. "Here comes the hat, dear,", and placed it on my head.

The world turned to darkness as the hat dropped and covered my whole head. I'm sure it looked rather funny. "_Interesting…_" said a voice, and I jumped a bit in surprise. I didn't realise that the hat would be speaking. I panicked for a moment, wondering if everyone could hear it. "_No,_" the Hat replied. "_It's only you and me. Anything we say here is between us, no one else can hear it._"

That made sense. "So, you use magic to make it so only we can communicate?" I questioned.

"_Yes. We're under a muffling charm,_" the Hat explained, and I heard it chuckle in my ear. "_Yes… yes… exactly. You're a clever one, aren't you? Yes… I see very smart indeed. Hm… and a hard worker, too. I see a lot of ambition as well. Goodness, you've got a lot of potential to be a very powerful witch, and do great things…_"

"What're you doing, looking in my brains?" I asked.

"_I am. Your driving forces, as well, looking at what makes you tick," _the Hat said. _"You've got a lot of inner strength. Now, where to put you… my first thought is that you'd do quite well in Hufflepuff, with the kind heart and loyalty you seem to have... _"

I pondered for a moment, "I don't think so. Hufflepuffs seem to be rather… complacent. Like hobbits or something. I'd get so bored! Maybe another house, like Slytherin or something."

The hat chuckled again. "_Slytherin? You in Slytherin? Goodness me, no that'd never work. Didn't you listen to a moment of my song? A muggleborn in Slytherin, really…_"

I shuddered a bit at the thought, agreeing. "You've a point. Ok, so Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? I'm fine with either one."

"_Well… you've got a great mind, there's no doubt of that, but you're far too outgoing and devious to go to Ravenclaw. I see you being a natural leader. Better be…_"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Excitement burst within me, and I suddenly felt that there could have been no better outcome than Gryffindor. I handed the large hat to Professor McGonagall and all but ran to the Gryffindor table, as my robes turned to shades of red and gold. James and Sirius stood up and were shouting and whooping at the top of their lungs, and Remus looked the happiest I'd seen him so far, loudly clapping as well. Lily simply looked down at the table, miserable as always.

I felt it was necessary to separate James and Lily, so I went between them. "Can you push down, please?" I asked politely.

"Why in the world should I?" She demanded, and I took a step back, slightly shocked.

"Well, I want to sit next to my _friends_," I snapped back, indicating to James, Sirius and Remus, who were turned to face us. I saw her face flush a bit in realisation and she scooted down. As I sat down, she turned her back, and faced the other first year boy who had been sorted into Gryffindor. He was a pudgy blond, with a bowl cut and rather large front teeth.

James smirked, and said, "Good luck being alone with her in the dorms,"

I cocked my head, "What d'you mean?"

Sirius butted in, "He means that you and Evans are the only girls."

I looked around. There were other girl Gryffindors, but as for new first years in the house… it was just Sirius, James, Remus, that blond kid, me and… Lily.

I faced forward a bit, slightly stunned and groaned that I would have to spend the next seven years alone with this pitiful ginger.

Up at the front of the Hall, Dumbledore was clearing his throat once the sorting had ended with Xavier, Stephen going to Slytherin. Slowly, a hush went over the Great Hall and most of the eyes in the room were turned to Dumbledore. The boys and I stopped our horsing around to pay attention.

"Welcome to the start-of-term feast," Dumbledore said in a wobbly sort of voice. He smiled around at us, his palms stretched out to his sides. Dumbledore's half-moon spectacles reflected all the students' upturned faces. "I'm sure we are all very, very hungry, and so I will not prattle on just yet, but let the house elves present us with what is rumoured to be one of their best works of culinary masterpieces… kip kip!" He clapped his hands and with several pops, the tables were suddenly populated by a host of plates and mouth-watering foods.

My eyes widened as I looked it over, and my stomach felt full just looking at it. I grabbed some pork and mashed potatoes with some green beans and dug in. I nearly choked on my food with laughter as I saw James and Sirius wolfing down helping after helping, as if they'd never seen food before in their lives. Lily, on the other hand, was picking at her potato jacket, looking oh so very out of place at the Gryffindor table. Said table was relatively silent, save for some older students catching up with friends, as everyone was preoccupied with the food.

After we'd had our fill of the dinner foods, they suddenly disappeared to be replaced by sweets of every kind. Mountains of magically unmelting ice creams and fondue with little biscuits on tiny plates all round. Cakes and treacle tarts and pumpkin pasties and even a bowl of chocolate frogs. I ate two pieces of treacle tart before I realised I couldn't put another bit into my mouth. I don't think I've ever felt so full before! I giggled at the large belch James erupted next to me, and gave him a small shove. "Gross!"

Dumbledore stood up once the clinking and clattering of flatware against plates had ceased and with another clap of his hands, the food and plates were gone, and the tables were bare. He walked up to the podium again and said, "Well, that certainly was everything that it was built up to be - a generous thank you to the elves who prepared it." He smiled and applauded, though no elves were anywhere to be seen in the Great Hall. A couple of hesitant, confused-sounding claps mimicked his around the tables.

Dumbledore smiled. "Now, I just have a few words for you and then it'll be off to bed with you… first of all, I must announce that our fine gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, has assisted our Herbology instructor, Professor Eureka Viridi, in obtaining a very unique addition to the greenery at Hogwarts. It is a tree that has been planted on the grounds called a Whomping Willow. Now, I am aware that trees are rather inviting and setting beneath one while doing your revisions is most delightful, but I must implore all of you to please give this Whomping Willow a respectful berth. The tree is quite young and violent and though Madam Pomfrey, our new maladies nurse in the ward is most talented, the blows of the Whomping Willow are quite painful, and the skele-gro potion is not a drink to aid in having a pleasurable evening." He smiled merrily, which took me aback. Why on Earth would he plant this giant murder tree, and how can he be so nonchalant about it?

"Next, as always, the Forbidden Forest shall remain to live up to its name as it is forbidden. Our caretaker, Argus Filch, has requested that I inform everyone that his cat, Mrs. Norris, is not to be teased, kicked, or in any way abused as she is still recovering from having her tail set on fire last term by a misaimed Filibuster Firework. Remember students, if you are to play with things such as Filibuster's Fireworks - which Mr. Filch has kindly requested time and again you do not - at least know the Aguamenti charm to put them out once they have set fire to any of the Hogwarts property, or most especially, any students or creatures that may catch flame as well." The three boys and I laughed so hard we nearly started crying. Lily frowned and muttered something about it being cruelty to animals. As if anyone could purposely set a cat's tail on fire with fireworks!

"Last but not least, I do want to remind us all that we are one family of Hogwarts residents. These are questionable times politically, not that I wish to trouble any of you with the world that brews around us when you are so blissfully young and unaware of the way such things work. It is important, however, in such times, that the divisions between us be forgotten and the things which unite us become more important than ever before. We are all magical beings, with a past and a future and stores that weave throughout the very fabrics of time. Respect each other's stories." He smiled warmly, as the Hall was silent. Tensions about blood status must be worse than I thought… I better not make it too obvious that I'm a muggleborn. "Now… off to bed, the lot of you, it is very late and tomorrow is going to be a very busy day of falling asleep in warm classrooms. Goodnight!"

All of us first year Gryffindors followed our Prefect out of the great hall, who had introduced himself as Bilius Weasley. He led us up no less than five billion staircases, higher and higher into the castle, until we were in one of the great towers I had seen from across the lake. "This is Gryffindor Tower," Bilius said, and, waving at a portrait on the wall, he added, "This is the Fat Lady and she's the only way into the common room."

The portrait came to life, smiling at us serenely, fanning herself gently with a little wooden fan. "Unseasonably warm for September, isn't it?" she asked, then "Bilius, you best be on good behaviour this term, I heard about Mr. Filch's cat."

"That was you?" James asked, laughing, "With the Filibuster Fireworks?"

Bilius simply grinned in response to the accusation.

The Fat Lady sighed, "That grin is not very promising of a reform, Bilius!"

"Boys, I think we're in the presence of greatness," I said, grinning back at Bilius.

"Hail hail!" Sirius joked.

"Okay, okay," Bilius said, waving his hands for us to calm down as James mimicked bowing down to him. He chuckled. "_Gillyweed_."

At first, I thought he was using some sort of wizarding slang, but to my amazement, the portrait swung open like a door, revealing a short little hole through which to climb, and a great room beyond.

"In you go!" Bilius said, waving us in.

We climbed through, one by one, and found ourselves into what I guessed was the Gryffindor common room. I looked around in excitement, it was even more amazing than I had imagined! Great cushy chairs, a huge fireplace, with lamps and couches and pillows. Brilliant paintings were hung all about depicting the heroic lives of former house members. I noticed the others were staring around too, and even Lily, who had been rather sour before, seemed to light up with awe at the room.

"Hey, Alice!" Bilius called a girl over. Her hair was cut short and she had wide, beautiful eyes under a pair of tortoiseshell spectacles. "Could'ja do me a good one and show these two the first year girls' dormitories? These two are the only ones."

Alice's eyes widened. "Wow! Good on you both, you'll get a lot of space then."

Lily and I looked at each other, a bit uncertain.

But Alice smiled warmly, "C'mon, you'll be more excited once you see it!" she waved Lily and I towards herself and we headed up the spiral staircase toward the girl's dormitories, "You two will have more than each other, don't worry, us second years are just down the stairs from your room and you can come down and hang out with us anytime. I've got a subscription to Teen Witch this term, we do the hair styling charms together and…" I honestly tuned her out as she went on and on about style tips and boys. Yuck.

Alice took us up the stairs to the very tippy-top of Gryffindor tower. "Here's your dorm!" she said, pushing open the very top room's door and letting us in. "Your luggage should all be up here already."

Indeed it was. The two four-poster beds in the room had a trunk at the foot of it, and a night stand beside each held a lamp. On the wall nearest to us were two desks, which had our timetables. I noticed the one to the left had my name written in the fancy script that was Professor McGonagall's handwriting.

"Well, it's quite late and I've got Potions first thing in the morning," Alice said. She picked up Lily's timetable and waved it, "Your classes are on here. I recommend you leave a bit early as the staircases are a bit confusing at first. If you need me, feel free to knock and I'll be right out to help you in a jif! S'long!" Alice waved and ducked out of the room.

I grabbed my timetable and plopped on my bed, looking at it as I pulled my socks and trainers off. There was a thick silence in the air, so I decided to break it. "Looks Professor McGonagall is our head of house. And she teaches Transfiguration." Lily hummed, moderately interested. "We've got Charms first thing in the morning with one Professor Flitwick. I think he's that short guy that was up at the teacher's table beside McGonagall. After that we have Transfiguration, lunch, then flying." It made me tired thinking of it all, and I gave a yawn.

I placed my timetable on my nightstand, and pulled on my pyjamas. I flopped onto the bed, putting my arms up behind my head, letting out a sigh. "Can you believe we're actually here? At Hogwarts? To learn _magic_?" I said almost dreamily, staring up at the canopy of my four-poster.

Lily, who was unpacking her things, looked up and thought for a moment. "Not even a smidge," she answered, a small smile playing on her lips.

I shut off my lamp and fell asleep quicker than I ever had before.


	6. 2nd September, 1971

The next morning came all too soon. I woke up extremely groggy, but the second I remembered where I was I became a live wire. I pulled on my uniform as quickly as I could, before spending the next twenty minutes trying to figure out how to tie a tie. I had seen my dad do it probably thousands of times, but I'd never tried myself. Lily had already left for breakfast by the time I woke up, but luckily the three boys I had befriended stumbled down into the Common Room just as I was about to leave through the portrait hole.

We trooped down to the Great Hall for breakfast, but it took an extremely long time without the aid of Bilius Weasley showing us the way. We got lost down several long corridors, including the one with a big stone gargoyle, before we eventually found our way to the Great Hall. As I expected, Lily was already at the Gryffindor table, sitting with a bunch of second years and talking. Thankfully, her face was bright and much happier than she'd looked the night before. She looked up as we walked by and I said, "Morning!" she gave a polite smile, but rolled her eyes at the boys before turning back to the other girls.

Taking our seats at the table, Sirius tugged some waffles onto his place, James mixed up an assortment of cereals, Remus pulled a thick slice of ham onto his plate eagerly, and I began to buttering up some toast. We all ate in silence. The Hall around us was getting steadily louder and louder as students filed down from the dormitories. Bilius eventually came in when we were nearly done eating, followed by the other first year boy who Remus told me was named Peter Pettigrew. Bilius sat on Remus's left side, while I was on his right, and James, Sirius and Peter sat across from us. The ginger boy slapped Remus on the back jovially, making him nearly drop his mug. "How was your first night, then?" he asked. "I was surprised you were all up so early. I stopped by your dormitory on the way down to see if you wanted a hand in finding your way. Good thing I did, too, Peter here was still asleep. Would've missed his first class," we all laughed.

Peter was red in the face and quickly snatched a wild assortment of foods, as though he was scavenging and started eating quickly.

"We didn't wanna wake you up, mate," James explained.

"You were snoring to no end," Sirius added, "All night I kept dreaming I was coming up on a dragon guarding his gold!"

Peter went even redder, as I burst into laughter.

Suddenly overhead, there was a call of an owl and we looked up as the ceiling suddenly flooded with owls, flying around the Great Hall, dropping off various parcels and letters to students. James' owl flew down with a letter, and took a piece of toast as payment before flying away. I noticed Sirius staring up at the ceiling, as though he was expecting something from home as well. I wasn't surprised to not see Archie swoop in, as it would likely take my parents weeks to figure out how to use owl post.

"Mother didn't write to me," Sirius said, concerned. "She must not have heard about me being sorted into Gryffindor, then."

"Hey, that's a good thing, right?" I said hopefully, "Let's hope she doesn't find out any time soon." Sirius's expression still was rather glum.

James, ripping open his own letter, said, "Don't tell me you're disappointed for not getting a howler?"

"Well… no," Sirius replied. "I guess I've just been kinda concerned, my mother's been pretty distant lately…"

Three older Slytherins came up behind Sirius and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and gave a weak smile. "Lucius Malfoy…" he said to the one with long blond hair, who I recall was Head Boy, and extremely disappointed last night at the result of Sirius' sorting. "Hi to you too, Mulciber, Avery…" he was clearly intimidated, and I didn't blame him... the two guys were massive!

"What went wrong, Sirius?" Lucius asked.

"What?" Sirius asked, uncomfortable that they were hovering so close and ominously.

"You're a Black, you should've been in Slytherin. So what's wrong with you?" Mulciber demanded roughly. Why, they're being extremely rude!

"Nothing's wrong with him," I said hotly. "He just got sorted different is all!"

It was clear that they ignored me. Lucius' voice was cold and low, "Is it true that you're a blood traitor?" he asked.

Sirius didn't answer, simply looking dumbfounded.

Lucius leaned closer, putting his hand on the table between Sirius and James. James looked at the back of his head, affronted by his butting in. "I heard you interacted with a Muggle over summer. On purpose. Wanted to make friends with the filthy thing. And now…" his glassy blue eyes traversed across the table from Bilius, to Remus, before landing on me. "... now you're making friends with half-bloods, blood traitors… and even a _Mudblood_." I wasn't sure exactly what that word meant, but just the way he said it while looking at me made my blood run cold.

Bilius stood up like there was a tack on his seat. "Why don't you shove off, Malfoy?"

Lucius looked at Bilius, stood upright, and meaningfully polished the badge on his chest. "Five points from Gryffindor for your attitude, Weasley. And why don't we make it five more for the abysmal state of your hair?"

Bilius raised an eyebrow, "Always got to be a prat, don't you?" he asked. "I'm a Prefect, stupid, you can't take points away from me."

"Then make it a point for his hair then," Lucius said, indicating James' messy head. He turned to Sirius again. "I'll be writing your parents."

"Fine," Sirius snapped. "Send them love from me, will you?"

Lucius turned and stormed off to the Slytherin table, followed by Mulciber and Avery.

Bilius rolled his eyes, "He's in his seventh year, and good riddance, too." He turned back to his meal.

James looked at Sirius, "So that was one of your cousins, 'ey?" Sirius nodded, taking entirely too long to cut one of his waffles, as if to avoid eye contact with us.

"Lucius Malfoy," he nodded. "Guy's a complete arse. His mum and dad are rich as bloody hell, even richer than my parents are, I expect, though I don't really know to be honest. But the Malfoys, they like reminding everyone how rich they are. They have a flock of enchanted peacocks prancing about their yard, and they own a huge house with more rooms than any family could ever need."

Bilius chimed in, "One of the biggest prats in the school. Loves bullying anyone he can. I can't believe he got Head Boy. It's a disgrace to the system, that is." He glowered at his breakfast. "I've got to figure out some way to get back at him before he's gone." Bilius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe next time you set off Filibusters you aim them at _him_." I murmured, which caused James to start snickering.

Remus, who'd stayed quiet just about all morning, announced, "We better get to class, guys, or we're going to be late."

"Know where you're going?" Bilius asked. When we shook our heads, he spent the next two minutes rattling off instructions that made my head spin. In all honesty, I zoned out somewhere in the middle.

"Blimey." James said. He shoveled a couple more bites of cereal into his mouth and we grabbed our bookbags. "Let's go so we have time to find it if we get lost."

As we left, I called out a thanks to Bilius and he waved at us as we started off out the Great Hall. Peter Pettigrew rushed after us, slightly out of breath and a few paces behind. We reached the classroom without _too_ much trouble, only having turned right once when we should've taken a left. I saw that Lily had come up before we had, and now was sitting on the carpet, leaning against the legs of a suit of armour and reading her Charms book intently, her hair falling in a red curtain.

When it was nearly time for class to start, the door flew open, seemingly of its own accord, and a voice called from within: "Come in students, come in!" We subsequently filed in. The desks had been arranged into one long table in front of Flitwick's teacher desk. We sat along it, and I sat between Lily and Sirius. Lily still had her book open to the page she'd been on, and I noticed she was more than halfway through reading the book already. I had only read about two chapters, as I had done that with all my textbooks to get my feet wet. I nudged Sirius and pointed at Lily's book and mouthed 'read it nearly through already!' and he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Welcome, welcome," Professor Flitwick said, beaming around at all of us. "My, my, you are a small group of first years, aren't you? Smallest of the four houses, I imagine. That's alright, it just means we'll have more time for one-on-one and you'll all become quite brilliant in no time, I'm sure." He looked down at his own copy of the textbook on his desk, "Now can any of you tell me what a charm is?"

I tentatively raised my hand, but Lily's shot up right away like a rocket.

"Miss Evans… my my, only one of two girls. Tell me, do you and Miss Stratford like your dormitory?" he asked, smiling.

I nodded, and Lily answered. "It's fine. I'm used to sharing my own room with my twin, Tuney, back home…"

"She's a twin?" I heard James hiss to Sirius.

Sirius shrugged, "Where's the other one?"

"Kindly pay attention," Flitwick commanded. "A drawback, for you, of a small class is I shall notice everything you're doing of an … _extracurricular_ nature." He chuckled, then turned back to Lily. "So, Miss Evans, tell us, what is a charm?"

"A charm is a spell that alters the properties of a given object - it changes what the object does, not what it is. Being under a charm is called being bewitched, and a dark charm can be called a curse, a hex, or a jinx, depending on the properties of the charm." She sounded like an audio recording of the book. I felt a bit of anger, I was used to being the clever one in the room. Looked like Lily has given me a bit of competition.

Sirius snorted.

"Troubles, Mister Black?" Flitwick asked.

"Got a bug in my throat," Sirius lied, and I saw Lily scowl at him. I smirked a tiny bit.

"Very well," Flitwick answered. "And quite right, Miss Evans. Charms are very useful and make up more than half the magic that you will do in your lifetime. Because they are such basic magic, many people wrongly assume that they are easy, but be careful. For a clumsily cast charm can backfire and you'll end up with whatever spell you've cast placed upon yourself. I've heard of witches and wizards who have gone mad from botched memory charms, or who have ended up suspended by their ankles in their rooms, unable to get down until the charm wears off, for they cannot reach their wand."

"Sounds fun," snickered James.

"_Levicorpus!_" Flitwick waved his wand without warning and James was suddenly swept out of his chair and suspended over the desks by his Gryffindor red and gold trainers, his robes bunched round his armpits, revealing his Muggle clothes beneath them. I looked up from my seat with the others, and laughed as James' hair hung on end and his spectacles went lopsided from gravity. James laughed, too, and Flitwick righted him, gently lowering him back down to his seat.

"That was brilliant!" James declared, laughing, "_Levicorpus_, huh? I'll remember that one." He scribbled it down on the title page of his book.

"Well, first you best learn how to cast it before you go flipping that wand of yours about, as well as wear the correct uniform to class." Professor Flitwick retorted slyly, before swishing his wand again, and a feather flew to each of our desks. "But I digress. Today, we shall begin with a much more simple variation of the levitation charm… W_ingardium Leviosa_. Remember, the pronunciation of a charm is very important. You do not want to say it the wrong way or things could go seriously wrong!"

We then sat for the next hour, all shouting at our feathers and waving our wands, trying to get them to levitate. By the end of class, only Lily and Peter had succeeded. The rest of us were told to work on it for homework, and then the class was over.

"That wasn't a bad first class," Remus said as we walked into the hallway, following instructions Professor Flitwick had given us to Transfiguration.

"Not bad at all," James agreed.

"Especially the part when he had you hanging from the ceiling," laughed Sirius.

"I can't wait to learn that one," James said. "You best watch out, I'll be stringing up any gits that annoy me, and that means you, Sirius." The two boys began shoving each other playfully as we walked along.

I kept my head down a bit, rather upset at the result of the lesson. Remus nudged me, and gave me a concerned look.

I sighed, "Well, my feather didn't even move an inch. What if… they kick me out? For not being good enough? I come from a Muggle family, after all, what if they realise that they made a mistake and I'm not actually a witch?"

The sandy-haired boy shook his head. "That's a load of tosh and you know it! You obviously have magic, otherwise you wouldn't be here! That was our first lesson ever, and I don't know if you noticed but James, Sirius, and I didn't do any better than you, either. We're gonna practise that spell together later, and you best be there to join us."

I gave a smile. "Thanks, Remus."

He grinned, before his face erupted into a yawn, causing me to giggle. "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't get much sleep last night."

Our conversation had caused us to lag behind the roughhousing James and Sirius, so we ran on ahead to catch up to them.

After lunch, it was time for one of the things I had been looking forward to most: flying lessons. I did get rather nervous at the sight of green robes as we crossed the grass of the grounds. This would be the first time I had properly interacted with Slytherins since the sorting, and I didn't know what to expect, honestly.

"Oh great," I heard Sirius say next to me as we headed over, "We have to learn to fly with Snivelly Snape." I sighed in annoyance, just picturing him glaring at me as I failed to even get my broom off the ground.

As soon as we saw Severus standing at the edge of the cluster of Slytherins, Lily gave a yelp of excitement and dashed over to him. She literally shoved James out of the way to get to her friend. She collided with the greasy boy, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. He hugged her back, although I noticed with a bit of hesitation.

"Yuck," I mumbled to the boys, "I'd shower after that if I were her."

Sirius snickered and called out, "Look at Snivelly with his girlfriend!"

Severus, already red from the sniggering of the Slytherins, turned even redder. "Shut your mouth, Black!" he growled.

"Ooh," James laughed. "You gonna take that, Sirius?"

Sirius simply grinned, "Sorry, _Sev_," he said, pointedly using the nickname Lily used for him, "I'll let you get back to snogging her, then."

The boys and I turned away and began to chat rather excitedly about flying, only to be interrupted by Lily's cry piercing through our conversation, "Severus, don't!"

James and I turned around to look at Lily, and we both saw Severus coming at Sirius, the look of an angry bull upon his face. We had to physically pivot Sirius around for him to notice, and he turned just in time. The next thing we knew, the two boys had their arms locked around each other's necks and were hitting one another quite hard.

"FIGHT!" bellowed one of the Slytherin boys and we all gathered around the scuffle in a circle. Lily's shrieks to stop the fight were drowned out by our whoops and chanting.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Madam Hooch had just arrived, carrying armfuls of school brooms under her arms, which she dropped to the ground as she broke into a sprint, grabbing a whistle from around her neck and blowing into it frantically.

She pushed her way between our circle and grabbed both Sirius and Severus around the necks of their robes, roughly shoving apart as they scrambled, trying to get at each other again. "Enough of this! Fifty points from both your houses! And detention for you both!" she shouted. The two stopped fighting as she scolded them, but it didn't stop them from glowering at one another. Each had a bloody nose and Sirius a cut lip. "Everyone get a broom," she shouted at the rest of us. "Arrange yourself about a metre apart in this area while I deposit these two with Madam Pomfrey in the castle."

As I turned to grab a broom, I saw James handing one to Lily. "I got you a broom before the best ones were taken." I felt a slight pang of anger that I didn't quite understand as Lily hesitantly took the broom, before James dashed away to join Remus and Peter. I grabbed one of the last brooms in the pile and walked to the line with Lily. She looked rather upset, so I made an attempt to make her feel better. "He'll be alright," I said, referring to Severus. "Sirius didn't get many good shots in, honestly, _he _looked more battered by the end of it." She shrugged, and looked a bit better.

I exhaled nervously as I stood there holding my broom. I'd never used a broom for anything more than cleaning, and this one was shaped a lot differently than any I'd ever seen. I looked to either side of me, and Lily and Remus seemed just as nervous. It seemed like James was the only Gryffindor with true experience flying.

Madam Hooch eventually came back across the grounds sans Sirius and Severus. She cleared her throat as she stood before us with her own broom, which was clearly nicer than any of the school brooms. Madam Hooch launched into a lecture on flying etiquette and the theory behind it. "Has anybody here flown before?" she asked.

James' hand flew into the air, as well as a few Slytherin hands, too.

"What sort of brooms do you fly?" she asked, going through the people who had raised their hands. The models were varying, mostly the answers were various numbers of Starchasers - until they got to James who said he had one of the new Nimbus brooms. Madam Hooch looked impressed, it must be a good model. "That's a very nice broom!" she exclaimed.

"My dad used to play for the team," James explained, "Quidditch has always been a big deal in the Potter house." Just by his attitude towards the sport on the train, I had gathered that _big deal_ was an understatement.

"Well that Cleansweep you've got there is going to feel like it's parked compared to a Nimbus, but you should be able to fly it without much trouble." She cleared her throat, "Okay everybody, mount your brooms."

We all fumbled to get the broom between our knees, except for James of course, who easily mounted the broom as though it was second nature, gripping the handle tightly.

Madam Hooch went down the line, critiquing our stances. "Miss Stratford, hold a bit tighter on your handle dear… there you go… Mister Lupin, you've got too much of the handle in front of you, even it out a bit more. Look at Mister Potter, you'll see… Yes, like that, much better. Okay. On my whistle, everyone kick gently off the ground, pulling up on your broom handle slightly, then push it back down equally slightly to land again. One… two…"

_Tweet!_

We all did as we were instructed, or tried to at any rate. I felt proud of myself as I wobbled a bit in mid air, but came down with a strong landing. James did a loop-de-loop in place, grinning as he came back down to stick the landing. Peter had toppled over instead of taking off at all, and only one of the Slytherins had managed to direct the broom back down to the ground correctly. Three of them were still stranded in mid-air. Lily, however, had done it perfectly. James was glancing over at her with an amused expression on his face.

"You've never flown before?" he asked.

Lily shook her head.

"So just a natural then?"

"I guess so," she answered. I saw her posture soften as she clearly seemed to gain a bit of confidence, and I felt happy for her. I saw her keep glancing at James as Madam Hooch got the stranded Slytherins down and righted Peter. I groaned in frustration at my own mediocre performance.

"Okay. Again!" Madam Hooch instructed.

This time in the air, James flew literal circles around all of us, laughing happily as the wind whipped through his already messy hair. I myself began to feel quite comfortable in the air, even though I was three metres off the ground. I at least felt comfortable to take one hand off my broom and hold it out for James to high-five as he sped around.

"Mister Potter!" Madam Hooch called, "If you don't mind stopping your showing off, I would rather like to complete a lesson down here on the ground!"

"Sorry, Madam Hooch," James answered, and looking at Lily, he added, "I couldn't help showing off a little." He slowly started to come down to land smoothly on the grass.

"Everyone down please," she commanded, waving her hands and we all slowly lowered to the ground as well, though none of us were even close to being as smooth as James.

We repeated this cycle for some time until everyone was able to take off and land with a certain graceful air that hadn't been there when we'd begun. James was obviously the best of us, though thankfully he refrained from showing off any further skills for us. Sirius returned with Severus right behind him, just as class ended and the sun was starting to set behind the castle.

"James," Sirius' voice echoed over, "Prove how good you are, mate." He wound up his arm and into the air went what looked like a bubble gum ball.

There wasn't even a moment's hesitation. James shot off the ground, leaning forward on his broom and crouching down to stream the air over his back in a way to increase his speed. He stretched out one arm as he circled back around, backing the broom up and with a soft crack the gumball landed safely in his palm.

Madam Hooch looked a mixture of angry and amazed as James flew back to us, dropping the gumball into Sirius' hand. "It was one of the red ones," he said, "Makes it easier to see."

I laughed and half rolled my eyes. "Lucky shot."

James grabbed the gumball and put it in my hands. "So you throw it if you think so," he answered with a swaggering air as he swept the arms of his robes up. "I'm just that bloody good."

"I think you're just arrogant," Lily remarked next to me.

James stared right into her face. "Throw it, Sabrina, and make sure to put some elbow into it."

I wound up good and hard and the gumball soared across the grounds. James took off, faster than smoke, and shot after the gumball. It looked as though he'd undershot, however, and he was going to miss it. But then he stretched, bringing his feet up to the broom and practically standing on it to give himself a bit more height. He leaned as far over the front of the broom as he could, sending it into a spiral, but wrapping his fist around the gumball before he did. Doing a sort of head-over-heels barrel roll, he managed to right himself and fly back, popping the gumball into his mouth.

All of us Gryffindors and Madam Hooch began to clap, while Severus and the other Slytherins, as well as Lily, looked thoroughly unamused.

James dropped the broom to the ground and looked at Lily. "What do you think now?" he demanded. "There's no way you can see what I've just done and not think it's some incredible flying!"

Lily's eyes were cold. "Still arrogant," she stated simply, shoving her broom into his hand and walked back to the castle.

Severus, her puppy dog, called after Lily and began to run towards her. I snickered as his robes swished around his ankles, making him trip on the way up the hill. James was still holding the two brooms in his fists, staring after her. Sirius and I were waving our arms, trying to get him to snap out of his stupor.

A few hours later, after I had showered and changed my clothes, I headed down to dinner with James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter in tow. As we came down the stairs, I saw a familiar mop of greasy black hair. "Have a lovely date then, Snape?" I called down.

"You must be really good at snogging to get someone who looks as good as that," James said loudly.

"Maybe he's filthy rich," I suggested.

"Rich? No, the only thing he is is filthy!" Sirius cackled.

Severus gritted his teeth and balled his fists as we came down the stairwell and started across the entrance hall toward the Great Hall.

I sniffed and winced. "You know, Snivelly, taking a bath could do wonders for you. It's pretty easy, too. Just turn the knobs and this stuff called water comes out!" James, Sirius and Peter were laughing their heads off.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," came a cold voice from behind Severus. "For being insufferable." I rolled my eyes as Lucius Malfoy had come up from the dungeons and must've heard us. "Now go on your way before I make it twenty," he hissed. We ran into the Hall quickly.

As we found our seats at the Gryffindor table, dozens of eyes were on James. According to Bilius, Madam Hooch had told the story of the blowing gum ball to the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, who had told his entire team at the beginning of dinner. The Ravenclaws overhead, and they began talking about it at their table, so then the Hufflepuffs overheard, and then the Slytherins overheard… let's just say that all eyes were on James that dinner. And I could tell that he enjoyed every bit of it.

By the time the five of us went back to Gryffindor tower for the evening, half the house was up and waiting in the common room to ask our small group about the details of the catch.

Of course, what followed was the most theatrical and dramatic retelling courtesy of James and Sirius, with Remus, Peter and I laughing our heads off in the background.

That night when I got back to my dorm, I saw Lily was ready for bed, reading her Potions textbook. "What a day, huh?"

She nodded. "I'm absolutely worn out," she put down her book for a minute. "By the way, you did great during Flying today. Potter's obnoxiousness of course was the focus for most, but you seemed really comfortable on a broom right away."

I felt a slight warmth rise in my chest. "Thanks! And cheers on levitating that feather in Charms. You were the first and only one of two to do it!"

"Thanks." For the very first time, Lily gave me a genuine smile. The way that it lit up her pretty green eyes, like she'd turned on a lamp behind the emerald orbs, I couldn't help but smile back.


	7. 3rd September, 1971

This morning, we all brought our cauldrons to breakfast. We Gryffindor first years had double Potions with the Slytherins first thing, and I was _not _looking forward to it.

Just like last night, many people were whispering about James, or giving him a high-five.

"Where'd you learn to fly like that, Potter?"

"Way to go!"

"Is it true you've got a Nimbus at home?"

"Maybe we'll finally beat Slytherin for the House Cup once you're old enough to play!"

"Are you going to try out for the Gryffindor team next year?"

"Like your head needed any further inflating." This last remark came from a smirking Remus as the six of us arrived in the Great Hall, and set me off into a series of giggles. Of course, Lily broke away from us right away to sit with the gaggle of second year girls she'd spent most of her time with.

James guffawed, "I told you, it's not ego if it's true, and I've proven it's true, haven't I?" He swaggered over to the Gryffindor table ahead of us, and seemed to be relishing in the attention. I glanced over to the Slytherin table; they were either ignoring us or glowering. Snape, of course, was one of glowering ones, sitting at the table across the room with a piece of bacon halfway to his mouth, his eyes following James with a sort of loathing.

Once we'd all finished breakfast it was time for Potions, and we followed along behind the first year Slytherins down into the dungeons where the Potion Master's classroom was. We turned into a classroom just down the hall from the stairwell, and found ourselves seats around a classroom lit by several candles lining the walls. Each desk featured cutting boards and small pits for fire to heat the cauldrons. James and Sirius immediately sat next to one another, while Remus and Peter took a desk next to them. I half-groaned as that left me alone to sit with Lily, but to my surprise, Severus took the seat beside her. That left me to sit on my own, at a table next to Remus and Peter's.

Professor Horace Slughorn was a large man that sort of reminded me exactly of his name - a great slug. He waddled to the front of the room and set himself on a plush green velvet chair by the teacher's desk and smiled around at us as we placed our cauldrons and ingredients cases onto the desks and settled ourselves in.

"Good morning, everyone," Professor Slughorn called, cutting over the chattering voices. He smiled as silence fell over the dungeon room. "I can tell that we are all very excited to learn the art of potion-making… but of course you are, it's a very exciting art! Much more subtle than the red and green sparks you create in classes like Charms and Transfiguration, and much more poetic." Slughorn's eyes drifted over all of us, "You'll learn about such amazing things in this class over the years you are required to take it leading up to O.W.L.s - and I hope, will enjoy it so much that perhaps you shall carry on into your N.E.W.T. years…"

Slughorn went on for what seemed like ages, talking about the 'subtle beauty' of potion-making before launching into an eons-long lecture about the different types of cauldrons and the reasons why you'd use each for different sorts of potions. I lost my interest quite quickly. Instead, I was paying attention to what James and Sirius were doing. Since they were on the other side of the room I couldn't quite tell, but Sirius later told me they'd drawn pictures of Quidditch players and balls and were enchanting them to move across the parchment and play against each other.

Eventually, however, Slughorn caught the devious duo, and once they failed to prove they were paying attention, they actually began focusing, ceasing my entertainment. That meant I had to pay attention too, unfortunately, and turned to listen to Slughorn as he talked about the different plants and tools that had come along with our potions kits and demonstrated how to use the brass scales to measure intricately.

Once he'd finished going on about the basic information, Professor Slughorn set us to creating a simple Giggling Potion, which he said was very similar to the Laughing Potion but with a few practical modifications. He walked up and down the aisles as he watched us prepare our ingredients, making remarks here and there, pointing out things that could be improved upon. I lagged behind a bit in the beginning as I didn't have a partner, but I quickly caught up. It wasn't dissimilar to the chemistry experiments I did in primary school.

I overheard Slughorn praising Lily on how well she'd cut her alihotsy leaves. "Well done girl, well done! How did you learn to cut with such precision?"

"My mother taught my sister, Tuney, and I how to cook when we were really little," Lily explained.

"Are you Muggleborn then?"

"Yes, I am," Lily replied.

My blood ran cold as the heads of all the Slytherin students turned to look at the front of the classroom where Severus, one of them was sharing a table with her. I saw Severus shift uneasily. There were a few whispers from the Slytherins.

"Very impressive indeed!" Professor Slughorn said. He looked over Lily's other ingredients with an appraising eye.

The rest of the potions class passed as slowly as the first half as I worked on the Giggling Potion, and slowly one by one the other students broke into fits of laughter as their potions finished, as Slughorn had them taste them to be sure they'd mixed them correctly. Lily and Severus were the very first to finish their potion successfully, followed closely by me.

At lunch, James was laughing his head off. He had put too much puffskein hair into the potion, making the effects last much longer than it should have. Sirius complained loudly to Remus, Peter and I about how boring he found the class to be.

"I thought it was brilliant," Lily said from just a couple of people away, her eyes staring directly at Sirius.

"That's because Slughorn went on about you for a good ten minutes," Sirius snapped.

"Oh look how marvelously she's cut her leaves," simpered Peter, doing a hilarious imitation of Slughorn. Everyone laughed except for James. Well, James did laugh, but it was still on account of his horrible potion, and not Peter's joke.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Don't be jealous because I'm smarter than you are, Sirius, it's unbecoming."

"Smarter?" Sirius snorted, "You think cutting up a bunch of leaves makes you smarter than me?"

"How long did it take for you to make your potion, then?" she demanded.

That certainly shut Sirius up, as he had finished dead last. Well, except for Peter, who didn't finish at all, but was forced to leave because another class would be coming into the Potions classroom soon.

"James, I think I prefer your bragging to you becoming a hyena." I sighed and began to eat.

Bilius Weasley eventually joined us, raving about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Apparently this was his first year teaching at Hogwarts. He'd been hired after the last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher had quit without notice at the end of term the year before. In fact, according to Bilius, he had had a different Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher every year he had been attending Hogwarts and he'd heard it had gone on longer than that, even, way back into the 1950s. "They say the job's cursed," he had whispered across the Gryffindor table. Remus and I looked at each other with curious faces. James continued to giggle out of control, so Sirius shoved some celery stalks in his ears.

James' laughing lasted until the boys and I were heading out of the castle for our Herbology class. We left fairly early, as the greenhouses were across the grounds, so it would take ages to get there. We were out the door of the Entrance Hall, Peter already two steps outside, when the voice of Professor McGonagall called for Remus. "Mister Lupin!" she called out. We all stopped, but Remus waved the four of us on. We shrugged and continued on our way.

Remus didn't show up to Herbology class, which concerned me.

After Herbology, I had gone up to Gryffindor tower to shower, as my robes were covered in dirt and grime. James, Peter and Sirius were far too lazy to do that and decided to have dinner instead, so I sat down at the Great Hall by myself and ate. Lily of course was sitting with Alice further down, and the second year waved to me, and gestured to sit with them. I gave Lily a hesitant look, but there was no hostility on her face, so I slid down to sit next to Alice, across from Lily.

We chatted for a few minutes, when a large sixth year Gryffindor came and sat with us. Alice introduced him as her brother, Derek Bell, a Chaser for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He set down his books and gazed at Lily and I for a moment. "I heard you two saw Potter's catch."

I nodded and Lily frowned, "Yeah, we saw it."

"Honestly Derek," Alice protested, "They've been asked about this so many times… if Lily had a knut for every time, she'd be rolling in riches."

"Sorry, I just had to find out if it really was as impressive as everyone made it out to be," Derek explained.

"I mean, obviously James exaggerated it, but I doubt I could have caught it." I said.

"It wasn't impressive in the least," Lily lied, her voice tense, "It was just a red gum ball, I don't see what the big deal is."

Derek looked no less impressed, but he changed the subject. "So, how are classes going?"

"Well-" Alice began.

"Excuse me." We all looked up. A second year boy with thin glasses and a nervous expression had come over.

"Oh hi, Frank!" said Alice. "This is Frank Longbottom," she said. "Frank, this is Lily Evans, Sabrina Stratford, and-"

"Derek Bell, yeah," Frank nodded vigorously. "I was curious when tryouts were. I heard Gryffindor needs a Beater this year." He was staring at Alice, though, and appeared more interested in her than he was in Derek or the tryouts. He was looking similarly to how James looked at Lily. Alice was oblivious to this.

Derek looked Frank Longbottom over. I don't know too much about Quidditch beyond the basics of how the game is played, but from what little I did know, Frank was far too scrawny to be a Beater.

But Derek was nice about it. "Next Friday afternoon," he told Frank, "On the pitch at 4:00."

Frank beamed. "Thanks," he said. He started to turn away, then turned back to look at Alice. "See you around the common room."

"See you," she answered, already concentrating on her dinner more than Frank. Lily and I watched as he walked back down the table and sat down with the other second year boys.

"Everyone is really into Quidditch here, huh?" Lily asked.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Oh God yes," she groaned, "And the season hasn't even started yet! Just wait - it gets worse."

With almost comedic timing, a fourth year slapped Derek on the back and said, "Alright Bell?" as he passed by. I giggled while Alice smacked her palm to her forehead in frustration.

Derek smirked at his sister's annoyance. "As you can see, my sister is the exception to the rule around here. Everyone at Hogwarts is into Quidditch - especially the Gryffindor-Slytherin matches. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff choose sides, the former rooting for Slytherin and the latter supporting Gryffindor." he grinned, "The stands get pretty loud… everyone cheering…" Derek's face was taken over by a dreamy, sort of nostalgic expression. He took a deep breath, and turned to me. "Do you play?"

I shook my head.

"Stupid, they're both Muggleborn," Alice reprimanded him, grabbing another potato jacket from the platter in front of her. "Muggles don't play Quidditch."

Derek said to me, "Well. Maybe you should try out when you're older. You've got an excellent build for a Seeker."

I looked down at myself and broke into a big grin. "Really?"

"BELL!"

Derek looked down the Gryffindor table at the other members of the Quidditch team. Another sixth year was waving him over eagerly. "Gotta go," he said, grabbing one of the chocolate eclairs that was on a platter in front of Lily. "See ya round the common room later!" he ducked off, shoving the eclair into his mouth messily.

"Ugh," Alice groaned. She grabbed a napkin and wiped the place he'd been sitting, where crumbs had fallen onto the table. "He's such a slob!"

"What did he mean by me having the build for being a Seeker?" I asked.

"Only that you're small and probably can fly really fast is all," Alice said, shaking out the napkin and turning back to her potato jacket. "Good for catching the snitch really quick."

I played tennis when I was little, until my parents had decided that I should switch to ballet instead, so I haven't played sports in quite a while. I'd always had a lot of fun playing, and I was pretty excited at the thought of being on the Quidditch team.

"He was trying to recruit you is all," Alice said, not noticing my excitement.

"You're only a first year, Sabrina." Lily said with a frown. "It doesn't really matter, since you can't try out anyway."

I looked down at my sandwich. "I guess you're right." It was a silly thought.

Alice changed the subject and we started talking about silly things for a few minutes, before Professor Slughorn came up to us. He had a big pocket watch in his palm and he was fingering it with his thumb thoughtfully. "Hello girls," he said, smiling at us. "Miss Stratford, may I say that you performed quite exceptionally in class today, considering you were the only student without a partner, and the second to finish. Keep up the good work, my dear!"

I felt my face grow hot and mumbled an awkward thank you.

"Now, Miss Evans," he said, looking down at Lily, "Might I have a word with you?"

"Yeah," Lily said, getting up. She glanced back at Alice and I as Slughorn led her out into the entrance hall.

After I had finished eating, I parted with Alice, as I had a Transfiguration essay to work on. As I left the Great Hall, and entered the Entrance Hall, I burst into laughter.

_"We may not be together_

_We may be far apart_

_But you'll never be too far away_

_From my broken heart_

_I'll see you in the bubbles_

_Of the potions in my cauldron_

_And in the full moon_

_When the werewolf is howlin'..."_

Sirius was singing loudly as James lip-synced the words to what I assumed to be a popular wizarding song. James looked somewhat like the singer, and now he was standing on the stairs, his palm splayed over his chest, wand held up as though it was a microphone as he walked up them theatrically, dancing as he went.

In the corner of the hall, Lily was talking with Slughorn about something or other, and her mouth was a very straight line.

I rolled my eyes, took out my wand, and whispered "_Lumos_," the tip of my wand began to glow with a white light, and I held it high, waving it back and forth like a lighter at a concert.

Sirius was belting out the lyrics to the song with great flourishing notes as James skid down onto his knees in the centre of the hall. People were looking their way, whispering to one another, pointing and watching their performance. Even Peter had put aside the books he was reading and began laughing uproariously from the stairwell.

Once the song had ended James took a bow while Peter and I (and a few onlookers) clapped and cheered for him and Sirius. James must have caught Lily's eyes and a smirking grin spread across his face, and he winked at her. I turned to see Lily's reaction, she let out an exasperated sigh and turned, storming back into the Great Hall to likely join Alice again.

"What is all the racket out here?!"

Professor McGonagall came out of the Great Hall almost immediately after Lily had disappeared through the doors, and James and Sirius were still taking their bows. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the four of us on the stairwell, the centre of attention, and she trotted over. "Off to your quarters, you four," she shooed us.

I leapt down from the third stair, "Professor, where's Remus?"

Sirius nodded, "Yeah, we've been waiting for him."

She sighed, "Remus will not be rejoining you this evening. Professor Dumbledore has informed me that he fell ill earlier this evening and was sent to the hospital wing to be treated by Madam Pomfrey."

"What's wrong with him?" Peter prodded.

Professor McGonagall shook her head, "Dumbledore didn't tell me. Now, off you go to your dormitories. I don't want to see you hanging around causing disruptions again." She looked down at my wand, which was still glowing. I stupidly had forgotten the incantation needed to stop the light. "Five points to Gryffindor for the successful execution of the Wand-Lighting Charm. Now go!" she shooed us up the stairs, and we headed up to Gryffindor tower.

As we headed up the steps to the common room, Sirius reminded me of the counter-charm for _Lumos_, and my wand finally shut off. The common room was crowded and there was no way we'd get to the comfortable chairs before midnight, so I followed the boys up to their dorms to do our homework. I snorted when I entered one of the messiest dorms I had ever been in, but it felt much cosier than my clean space did when it was occupied with Lily, so I settled in on James' desk, knowing he'd not be doing his work anyway.

I ended up being the only one to be doing my homework. I went back and forth from pouring over my Potions textbook, and working on my Transfiguration essay. Peter laid on the floor, trying to help Sirius perfect the Levitating Charm. James was laying on his back, his feet up on the wall, tossing another Drooble's Best Blowing Gum ball up in the air and catching it again over and over, seeming to be deep in thought.

Eventually, his thoughts made themselves known, when James said what we were all thinking. "So where do you guys think Remus is?"

"Professor McGonagall told you," Sirius said, aiming his wand at an old sock he'd extracted from the abyss of his trunk. "He's in the hospital wing, ill."

"He left to see Dumbledore and just… gets sick?" James said in a disbelieving tone.

Sirius shrugged. "_Wingardium_..._leviosa!_" The sock limply wiggled, but didn't lift off the ground.

"Maybe Dumbledore and him had some biscuits and they were bad and he got food poisoning." suggested Peter.

James and I looked at each other skeptically. "But Dumbledore was in the Great Hall during dinner," I said, "And _he _didn't seem ill at all. Remus had already been away for several hours by then. Dumbledore clearly knows something we don't."

Sirius rolled his eyes at me. "You clods are overthinking it," he waved his wand again, "_Wiiiiingarrrrdium levio-SA!"_ the sock flipped over pathetically. Sirius groaned. "I'm never going to get this to work!"

It was at this point that I closed my book and took out my wand. I had spent nearly two hours working on this charm last night, so I felt somewhat confident in my skill. "It's all in the pronunciation, mate. Watch what happens when I do it your way," I pointed my wand at the sock. "_Wingardium levio-SA!"_ As expected, the sock shuddered but nothing happened.

Sirius scoffed. "Brilliant."

I laughed, and pointed my wand at Peter instead, who didn't notice because his back was turned. "Oh sod off, let me finish! _Wingardium levi-OH-sa!"_

Peter began to rise off the ground with a yelp, waving his arms like a chicken without a head. James and Sirius and I burst into laughter as he rose to the ceiling, before I tossed him into his bed.

Sirius tried the charm with how I pronounced it, and after the third try the spell caused James' gum ball to levitate mid-catch. It soon dropped to the ground, however, when Sirius got cocky and started cheering, thus losing his concentration.

Once that excitement was over, the four of us turned to actually completing schoolwork. There was silence for the next hour or so, before Peter spoke up, "What d'you guys think it is that Remus has?"

Sirius shrugged. "Hope it's not Dragon Pox or something."

"Would be nice to know…" James mumbled. "What if it's contagious?"

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall would have moved us all if it was contagious," I said, but I noticed that Peter twitched uncomfortably and inched a little further away from Remus' desk.

We worked late into the night, and as I was finishing up, Peter fell asleep on his parchment, snoring loudly at his desk.

"Look up if there's an anti-snoring charm" James requested. Sirius did, but he said there wasn't a charm like that which he could find, so the three of us used our new levitation skills to _Wingardium Leviosa_ Peter into his bed. The endeavor went fairly well - we managed to only hit Peter in the head once, and he managed to sleep through it, so Sirius remarked that it didn't really count if he didn't feel it.

I left the boys' dorm at about one in the morning, still slightly on a sugar high from the sweets we had indulged in. I tried to be as quiet as possible when I entered my room, as Lily was already in bed, sound asleep. Her flaming red hair was all spread out when she was asleep, and it looked like a lion's mane. If only she was this peaceful when she was awake, then life at Hogwarts would be perfect.

It took me at least an hour to finally fall unconscious, and I didn't know if that was because of the sweets or my worries for Remus.


	8. 4th September, 1971

Today was Saturday, which is the first free day we'd had at Hogwarts, and so the boys and I rushed out onto the grounds, excited to explore. I hoped that Remus would show up, but he hadn't all day. In all honesty, Sirius, James and I spent a fair amount of time outdoors trying to lose Peter, who'd followed us around like a shadow as we walked down to the lake. We threw toast to the giant squid to watch his long tentacles grab at the bread as it floated away from the water's edge.

That night, Remus still hadn't returned and James' suspicions were growing. "What could possibly have made him so sick he doesn't come back for two whole nights?" he demanded while we spent the evening in the common room. Peter and I were working, while he and Sirius tossed the gumball back and forth.

I rubbed my temple, "Well if he got a fever yesterday afternoon, you typically need to be without a fever for at least 24 hours before you're okay again… maybe Madam Pomfrey didn't want him to infect any of us?"

James didn't seem any less worried, and frankly I didn't blame him. Once I had returned back to my room, I sat on the balcony, opened the window, and read my Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook using the light of the full moon. That was the first class we had in the morning that Monday, and I wanted to be as prepared as I could, due to my being a Muggleborn. I looked out onto the castle grounds, marveling at how beautiful the scottish landscape was, even cloaked in the darkness from the night.


	9. 5th September, 1971

By the time night had fallen once more, we still hadn't seen hide nor hair of Remus Lupin. Even Lily began to get worried.

"Do you guys think it's something truly serious?" I asked, beginning to show the same concern and frustration as James. "Do you reckon he's dying or something? I mean, three whole nights. And McGonagall's refusing to tell us _anything_…"

James nodded, I had never seen him so serious before. "Let's face it, he didn't exactly look like a specimen of health to begin with…"

"I'm sure he's not dying," Peter argued.

"You never know," James replied, "I was over at a Muggle friend's house and I saw a television programme that was raising pounds for kids with cancer at this Muggle hospital in London… Remus doesn't look much different than them."

I spit out my pumpkin juice that I'd put in a flask for the studying session. "Now _that's_ a little ridiculous… for one thing Remus has hair!"

"If it was cancer they'd have sent him to St. Mungo's to have it magicked out, wouldn't they?" Sirius said.

"Maybe they have," James suggested, "None of us have seen him, after all."

I gave it a moment. He did have a point. "Maybe we should go visit him. It must be boring up there in the hospital wing without anyone to talk to," I shook my head in slight shame, "We should've gone over the weekend."

"You want to go visit him now?" Peter asked, looking up from the parchment he was working on for Herbology. "But it's dark and against the rules to be out of the common room at night…"

"Not now, obviously, that would be against the rules…" James said reluctantly.

I then chimed in, "Maybe tomorrow after Defense Against the Dark Arts, if he's not back by then."

We agreed, and shortly went to bed after. I crawled under the blankets as the air had cooled considerably in the last couple of days as autumn set in, and the last of summer nights had come and gone. I fell asleep staring through a crack in my four poster's curtains, wondering and hoping that Remus was okay.


	10. 6th September, 1971

Professor Adom Tutman had sharp features and wore long robes made from a rough tan material. He had gold earrings and thick, dark eyebrows that seemed to stand off his deeply tanned face like great fuzzy caterpillars. He stood at the front of the classroom, arms crossed over his chest as he watched us file in and sit down with appraising, bright green eyes. I was quite excited for this class, there had been quite a bit of talk in the Great Hall about Professor Tutman. But this guy looked like he could not only take on a curse, like the one against the previous Defense teachers, but he could win against even the most powerful of them.

His eyes swept over the few of us and down to his roster. "Such a small class," he muttered. He had a thick accent that I couldn't quite place, but later learned was Egyptian.

"We're missing one," I offered. "Remus Lupin, he's ill, up in the hospital wing."

"I see." Professor Tutman nodded, his finger on the roster. "Well, then, you're all here, let's begin." He withdrew a long gold-looking wand from a funny little holster on his hip and waved it at the door, closing it right, and he turned back to us. A large chalkboard hovered behind his desk and he flicked his wand again. A piece of chalk leaped out of the tray at its base and began scribbling notes frantically across it in powdery white letters. "The Dark Arts is what we call magic of a negative nature, the stuff that would be used against you by a dark wizard. The purpose of learning defensive magical theory is to protect you against attacks that you may face. In this level of the class, we shall learn simple tactics of disarming, stunning, and otherwise stopping your opponent in a duel, though not all of these will be taught this year."

On the chalkboard, several defensive spells and their purposes were being written out. We all quickly copied down what it was saying, and I muttered the spells under my breath. _Expelliarmus, stupefy, protego, protego duo, protego maxima, salvio hexia, revilio incantatem, revilio huminus…_ the list was quite long, and the purpose of most of them was to cast a shield that protected from dark magic of varying degrees. Professor Tutman nodded and paced as he listened to the scratching of our quills on parchment. "You just never know when you might need these spells," he said, "You never know when you could be attacked. The purpose is to be always on the lookout, always ready, always capable of protecting yourselves from danger… for it is out there and it is getting stronger."

I shared a look of concern with Lily.

"What do you think he meant by 'it's getting stronger'?" I asked a couple of hours later as the five of us made our way down to the Great Hall for lunch after DADA was over.

Lily, who was close enough to hear the question came to a stop and faced me. "Dumbledore said it at the start of term feast, didn't he?" she said, "There's some mad politics going on, and I know just as little about the wizarding world as you do since we both weren't raised in it, but I know at least for muggles mad politics means a bad leader. That can lead to a war. Professor Tutman obviously has been told to instruct us in ways to protect ourselves in case the political situation gets even worse."

I was slightly surprised at the depth of her answer, and the fact that she had finally initiated speaking to me. "You-you're right," I stammered a bit. "Of course you're right."

Lily stared at me for a moment, but then scrambled over to the herd of Slytherins that passed by. Figures, she'd want to spend time with her precious _boyfriend_.

The boys and I trooped off after the Slytherins into the Great Hall. "Are we still going to visit Remus in the hospital wing after this?" I asked, going from one depressing topic to another.

"Yep," James answered, "As soon as we've eaten we'll go up."

Sirius chimed in, "We can nick a couple treacle tarts from the table for him if we stick around for dessert."

"No need to," said Peter, pointing to the Gryffindor table.

Remus was sitting at the table, looking pale and tired. "Blimey, he looks like one of the house ghosts," I heard Sirius mutter as we approached. He and I flopped onto the bench on either side of Remus, James and Peter sitting across from us.

"Well, look what Mrs. Norris dragged in," Sirius announced.

"Are you feeling better then, Remus?" I asked concernedly.

"Better?" Remus asked, looking round, almost bewildered.

"Yeah, from the Hospital Wing?" James prompted, "Professor McGonagall told us you were ill and Madam Pomfrey was tending to you."

"Oh yeah," Remus nodded, "Much better, thank you." He stared down at the plate of chips he was eating with a roast beef sandwich. I noticed his hands were shaking slightly as he devoured the food and he had some sort of smelly drink he was washing it down with.

"What's that?" Peter asked, eyeing the drink.

"A Replenishing Potion," Remus answered, "Dumbledore gave it to me, said it would help me feel better. I didn't really eat while I was… sick."

James frowned. "My mum makes this brilliant soup when I'm sick," he said, "You should've eaten soup. Always makes me feel much better."

Remus shrugged, "I didn't have soup."

"I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would've gotten you some if you asked," I said.

Remus shrugged again.

"You missed a brilliant Defense Against the Dark Arts," Sirius said, changing the subject since Remus obviously wasn't wanting to talk about it. "Bilius was right, Professor Tutman seems really cool." He reached in his bag and pulled out the parchment with the notes he'd scribbled down on it. "You can copy my notes. We started learning the Disarming Spell today."

I puffed out my chest a bit with pride. "I was the only one that got it right, Professor Tutman's wand slipped right out of his hands! I did it faster than even Evans!"

James stuck his tongue out at me. "I almost got Sirius'! It sort of tried to wiggle away from his hand but he just held onto it too tight!" he turned to the boy in question, "You could've let it go and made me look good but noooo!" he said ruefully.

"And look stupid myself?" Sirius asked, shaking his head, "No way."

We finished lunch, filling Remus in on everything that he had missed since he'd been gone, and then it was time to go out onto the grounds for Herbology in the greenhouses. Since Remus had missed the first Herbology lesson, I decided to partner with him, filling him in on what we'd learned about Puffapods and warning him against the Venomous Tentacula that had a nasty habit of sneaking up on students with its long vines when they weren't looking. Twice it had tapped Professor Viridi on the shoulders during our last lesson and she'd had to chase it off a Hufflepuff boy it had taken a fancy to. By the end of the lesson, Remus was still awfully pale, but had seemed to regain much of his energy and smile back.

That night, we sat in the Gryffindor common room taking turns playing Exploding Snap, and taking it in shifts to study when we weren't the ones playing. Peter was surprisingly good at the game, but Sirius later told me he'd seen Peter bewitch a couple of cards to stick together when James wasn't looking.


	11. 9th September, 1971

Time at Hogwarts goes by quicker than it does anywhere else in Britain, I'm fairly certain of it. How could it possibly be Thursday afternoon again and time for another flying lesson without time being warped considerably at the castle? I can't believe that I'd already been at Hogwarts for an entire week, it seemed like only yesterday I lay awake at night, counting down the days until I'd begin to learn _magic_. On the other hand, I feel as though I've known my friends my whole life. I guess time moves both fast and slow at Hogwarts.

James, Sirius, Remus and I walked across the grounds, following after Lily, and little Peter trailing along behind us. He was running to keep up, nervously babbling about how he hoped he'd be better at flying this go around.

Madam Hooch was waiting alone on the grass in the spot where we'd learned last time and as we approached she directed us to the Quidditch pitch, saying that today's lesson was to be held in there as we had - and the said the next word with a tone of annoyance - an audience.

"Audience?" Lily asked, confused, "But who's come to watch us learn how to fly?"

As we approached the pitch, I saw a mass of people. "Half the school, by the looks of it," I remarked.

James and Sirius exchanged excited looks and broke into a sprint down the hill to the pitch. I even felt a tingle of excitement myself, not necessarily at the idea of the audience, but just at the thought of flying again. It was the freest I had ever felt.

The stands rose up around us, the three goal posts standing at each end of the long pitch. I inhaled the smell of freshly cut grass and the faintly lingering scent of cleaning wax from the stands. I ran over to where the brooms were, along with the other students. There was quite a scuffle to get the better of the school brooms.

There really were quite a few people in the stands. I recognised Alice and Derek Bell in the front, along with a few other members of the Gryffindor team. There were a couple Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who I had guessed were also members of their house team.

Madam Hooch motioned for us all to line up, and I found myself between James and Remus. I glanced over to the bespectacled boy to my left, and was surprised at how nervous his face was. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a friendly pat, "Alright, Potter?" I gave him an encouraging smile, and he flashed a cheeky grin in response.

"On my whistle, you my fly up ten feet and back down," Madam Hooch called. I gripped the broom tight in my fists, ready to kick off. Since everyone's eyes would be on James, I knew I'd be in their peripheral vision as well. I wanted to be perfect.

_TWEET!_

I soared up, a slight wobble at first, but finished smoothly. I looked up and saw James had shot nearly twenty feet in the air. He did a quick loop-de-loop before coming back down for a perfect landing. There was a smattering of applause from the stands and James grinned as Sirius gave him a thumbs-up.

Peter, who was to James' left, was struggling, only four or five feet off the ground, the broom seeming to buck and twist uncontrollably beneath him. I called out to him, "You've got to hold your hands up a bit more," Peter moved his hands accordingly, but the broom didn't calm down.

"You're too nervous," James announced, looking over, "Calm your nerves and you'll do better. The broom can feel you're scared and it doesn't like not being controlled so it's trying to throw you for a better rider. Take a deep breath and tell yourself you can do this, because you can. Take it from a professional." He grinned, and I snickered.

Lily huffed, "A professional? Where? I don't see one here."

"Well, p'raps not yet but one day I will be," James replied.

I saw on the Slytherin side that Severus was grinning in amusement at Lily's obvious dislike for James. I expected Lily to turn and grin back at him, but instead she kept her eyes turned straight ahead. _Had Severus done something to upset her?_

The lesson went on basically the same for some time. Peter struggling, Lily and James exchanging glares and eye rolls, and my flying improving far more than I expected it to. I think it helped that I was far from the worst on here, so that internally gave me confidence, ergo confidence in my broom as well. Every time James did something particularly good the others in the stands cheered or shouted comments like "Good one Potter".

As the sky was starting to turn to dusk, the lesson was nearly over. Madam Hooch finally blew her whistle and shouted that it was time for us all to put up our brooms for the night and head to the Great Hall for supper.

Then Derek Bell jumped the stands and rushed across the pitch.

"Madam Hooch," he called, "I know it's time to go but, uh, would it be possible…" he held up a blue Drooble's Best Blowing Gum ball, his gaze moving to James.

Madam Hooch looked at the tiny blue gum ball, then back at James, too, and it was obvious she was torn between wanting to be professional and wanting to see James catch the gumball as badly as Derek and all the others in the stands did. She hesitated, then said, "Well, I suppose just once…"

"Alright!" Sirius cheered, pumping the air with his fist. "Go on James!" He grinned, slapping him on the back joyfully.

James exhaled rather nervously, grabbed onto the broom's handle and mounted it. "You ready, Potter?" Derek asked. He nodded and Derek chucked the gumball as hard as he could. It soared much farther away than the one tossed last week, but James put on some extra speed, crossing the length of the pitch effortlessly, leaning forward over the handle of the broom severely, his hair streaming straight back from the wind. He stretched out his hand and pulled up on the broom handle to give himself a curved trajectory. He yanked up, hard, and he stretched his hand wide… the moment the gumball hit his palm we all began shouting, screaming, clapping, etc. He did it!

"Jumping gargoyles!" laughed Derek, "I never… I didn't really… wow! Very impressive, Potter!" he was grinning ear-to-ear, eyes twinkling. We were all hooting and hollering with excitement. Even Lily was looking wide-eyed at the end of the pitch. The Slytherins were scowling, but none as hard as Snape was, who was staring at Lily's impressed expression with a loathing sort of hatred darkening his pale face. What a creep.

Derek flung his arm over James' shoulders as he landed and grinned, and pulled him in for a side-hug. "Bloody brilliant, that's what you are," he said, "C'mon, come with me, we've got to talk to McGonagall about maybe breaking a few school rules!"

Derek pulled him along away from the pitch and up the grounds of the school, still carrying the crummy school broom. Sirius, Remus, Peter and I, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor team followed closely behind. It felt like some sort of weird parade.

"We're sure to win the House Cup if Potter's on the team," said an excited third year, Bradley Macmillion, I think his name was.

We marched through the entrance hall, and up the staircase to the corridors above, until we'd come to the Transfiguration wing of the castle, where Derek found Professor McGonagall's office and knocked excitedly.

"Come in," Professor McGonagall's voice rang sharply from within, her accent ringing through the words. Derek pushed the door open and dragged James inside, leaving the rest of us outside. They closed the door, and all of us groaned in annoyance.

After a few minutes, the two emerged, hopping mad. "Bloody hell," Derek complained to James. "Slughorn wouldn't have hesitated a moment if you were in his house. He'd do whatever it took to win the house cup." He scowled a moment, then sighed and lightened up a bit, "Not that I'm willing to play as dirty as Slytherins are," he added.

James sighed, "Well, maybe I could come watch the training anyway?" he suggested hopefully, "Maybe my friends and I could? Then we're familiar with the team and how things are run for next year?" He stared up at Derek pleadingly. I grinned at Sirius, who looked just as hopeful.

Derek shrugged. "Sure, why not. Maybe we can even sneak you on a broom sometimes and you could… you know… play along sometimes."

"That'd be amazing!" James exclaimed.

There were still murmurs of disappointment, but James was still optimistic.


	12. 13th September, 1971

"You know what this place needs? A bloody map!" Sirius exclaimed.

It was Monday, and we were lost trying to find our way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Remus, who was usually the best of us at navigating the castle, had no idea as he'd never been, due to him being ill the week before. None of us had any idea either, as we had just followed Lily last time.

"A map would be spiffing about now," James agreed, looking agitatedly up and down the corridor. "Blimey, they all look the same, don't they?" he asked.

"I think we've seen that portrait before," said Remus, pointing at a small square on the wall featuring a knight with a fat pony. The knight had just been thrown from his steed and he was trying to climb back on, but kept getting his armour stuck in the horse's saddle footholds.

Peter looked up, "Yeah, that's Sir Cadogan."

"More like Sir Cadogan the Lame," I muttered. "Oi! Seriously!" I raged, as we rounded a corner and found ourselves at the mouth of the stairs that led down to the entrance hall again. We'd been back to this point several times by now.

James checked his watch. "We're quite late."

Remus frowned. "I'm never going to learn any defensive theory at this rate."

"There you are!" We turned around to find Professor Tutman coming up behind us, Lily in tow, carrying a box under one arm. "We've been looking for you all," he said jovially.

"So have we," I said sarcastically, before realising that that was kind of disrespectful.

But Professor Tutman didn't notice, and waved us along, "Our class is outside today," he said, leading the way.

With two more people added to our party, we charged down the stairs, across the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds. It was a crisp early autumn day, one that promised a cold winter ahead. I tied my robes together, Lily pulled the sleeves of her jumper down over her hands and Sirius rubbed his palms together. Professor Tutman led us all down to a large oak tree by the Black Lake. We set ourselves down under it on the grass, and Tutman set the trunk he'd been carrying down on the ground.

"The reason I've brought you out here is so that I can show you some of the dark magic detectors I've got. They simply won't work in such close quarters of the other students within the castle." he said. He reached into the trunk and pulled out a bunch of shiny instruments that I'd never seen before. Professor Tutman set them up on the trunk for us to see. There was a big silver thing that looked like a top that seemed to levitate on its spindle, a mirror, a set of scales, and a couple other odd-shaped things that I had to crane my neck to see. I sat slightly behind Peter, who had combed his ashy blond hair upwards that morning. He had explained at breakfast that he tried to make it look messier, like James, but he only made it bushier instead. I slightly regret laughing at it, as now it was blocking my view somewhat.

Once all the instruments were laid out on the trunk, Professor Tutman waved his wand to activate them, and they started to move and flash. The top thingy spun, blurring with its wobbling speed. The mirror fogged up with shadowy figures, and another thing that looked like a long rectangular box with lights on it blinked madly. "Well, either we are not far enough from the school as I had thought, or someone here has a very dark secret," Tutman said, looking around at us. I looked around the group, no one here seemed suspicious to me. Peter quivered with anxiety like the scaredy-cat he was, and Remus looked like he wanted to vomit. I dunno why they're overreacting, it was probably because we were too close to the school.

"Well blimey, everybody's got a secret!" Sirius said with indignation.

Professor Tutman chuckled, "Perhaps. But these are special tools and won't pick up on things like shirking off homework to play gobstones. They're tools used by Aurors at the Ministry of Magic."

Most of the group looked deeply impressed. I was a tad confused, so I raised my hand.

"Yes, Miss Stratford?" Professor Tutman asked, looking at me with amusement. I'd suddenly felt silly raising my hand in such a small class, but it was too late.

"What's an Auror?" I asked.

"You don't even know what an Auror is?" Sirius asked, incredulous.

"Excuse her for being Muggleborn," snapped Lily, turning to look at him, "Does it bother you?"

My eyes widened a tad, not expecting Lily to stand up for me. I felt a bit frustrated, as I didn't feel I needed to be stood up for. Sirius means well.

Sirius looked just as surprised at the heat in her words. "No," he said, "Not even a bit."

She glowered at him anyway, then turned back to Professor Tutman, who was frowning at both of them for their outbursts. "Sorry, Professor," Lily said. I gave Sirius an apologetic look that she had snapped at him like that.

"Yeah, sorry Professor," Sirius muttered too.

"No worries," Professor Tutman replied. He cleared his throat, "Now… as we were saying… Sabrina, Aurors are sort of like a Muggle police investigator, except for the wizarding world. They're dark wizard catchers. They go out and arrest and testify against known doers of evil. They also guard the wizarding prison, Azkaban, along with the help of some of the most fearsome creatures imaginable… the dementors."

"Dementors?" Sirius asked.

I nudged Sirius' side. "Don't know everything then, do you?" I smirked.

Professor Tutman cleared his throat. I blushed. "Dementors are creatures that feed off people's happiness, they suck the joy out of everything… when a dementor is near and feeding off of you, you feel as if you'll never feel happiness again. Ever." Tutman looked around at us. "You feel as if your entire world has gone black, all the colors have gone. They're mighty dark creatures, dementors, and they have no allegiance, no loyalty. They'll go wherever they can feed the most. They're most useful as guards at the wizarding prison for they keep the prisoners feeling so dismal that they lose the will to fight. Some go insane or die from depression within those walls. Particularly nasty inmates will suffer the dementor's kiss, which is much like the Muggle death penalty. A dementor's kiss means they've sucked out your soul and you're worse than dead.

I stared up at Tutman, wide-eyed. The others were completely silent, most likely in awe and fear as well.

"This," Tutman said, turning to his silver instruments, "Is a sneakoscope. When it spins, it is detecting the presence of a sneak - some with a dark secret is around, usually that indicates an enemy but there are many forms of dark secrets. There are many reasons why one might keep them, and the sneakoscope cannot judge the difference between a good and an evil secret keeper, only that there are things being withheld." We all looked round at each other, wondering who it could be that had a secret like that.

Professor Tutman turned next to the mirror, "This is a foe glass. In the glass, you see not your own reflection but the shadowy figures of your enemies - unless of course your worst enemy is yourself. I suppose there are some who peer into the foe glass and see themselves in perfect clarity. The closer one's enemies are, the more clearly they can be seen in the reflection.

"Wow, neat…" James said, leaning closer, his eyes wide. "This is cool. Can't see anything, though."

"Good thing, isn't it?" Professor Tutman said, smiling, "Means you haven't got any enemies around."

Tutman went over the other instruments for the rest of the lesson, going on about the uses of them and the sorts of dark magic that they each detected. I glanced at the foe glass as a figure occasionally poofed in and out of the glass, a face nearly appearing but not quite becoming recognisable.

We walked back across the grounds to the castle, following along behind Professor Tutman. Lily was talking to him about the instruments, chattering away and keeping Tutman distracted. Sirius looked around at us. "I've been thinking. We should really do something about the map idea I had."

"Do something?" Remus asked, "Like what?"

"Like make one," Sirius said. "The four-" he paused, probably because he noticed Peter's hopeful stare, "-five of us."

"How? We get lost every five minutes, we're probably the least qualified." I pointed out, "We don't know where anything's at in the castle."

"We do what any real map makers do," Sirius answered, "We explore!"

"But we haven't got any time to explore," Remus argued. "During the days we've got classes, the evenings we've got homework…"

"We could go at night," James suggested.

"Brilliant!" Sirius chimed in, grinning.

Remus shook his head, "We couldn't go at night, that'd be against the rules. We aren't supposed to be out of the dormitory at night."

I grinned. "And we're not supposed to be in the dorms of the opposite gender, but I spend more waking hours in your room than I do my own."

James added, "Rules were meant to be broken."

Remus looked uncomfortable.

Sirius was getting excited. "We could sneak off after everyone's out of the common room. The only one we'd really need to watch out for much is Filch."

"And Mrs. Norris," Peter piped up.

"But what if we get caught?" Remus asked.

I shrugged. "We'll probably get detention, which isn't the end of the world."

Suddenly, Sirius smacked his hand to his forehead, "Detention! That's right, I've got that ruddy detention today with Madam Hooch and Snivelley."

"Sounds exciting," James laughed.

"Very," Sirius agreed. "But this is exactly the sort of situation that our map would come in bloody handy; I haven't a clue where Madam Hooch's office is."

That evening during dinner, Sirius joined us about ten minutes after we had begun to eat. I scootched down the bench so he could sit between James and I.

"Well hello there," I said, giving a great theatrical sniff, "You don't smell too horrible, so I guess his greasy hair didn't touch you. I recommend you shower after we eat though, just to be safe." Peter and James burst into laughter and I smirked.

"You do, however, smell like broom wax." James said, "Were you servicing the brooms, then?"

Sirius laughed. "That's exactly what we were doing. Trimmed about a hundred brooms myself while ol' Snivelley sat about and read the manuals."

"What a great prat, making you do all the work," James scoffed, shaking his head.

"I've got a surprise for you," Sirius added under his breath.

"Do you? What is it?" James looked excited, eyes sparkling with eagerness.

"You'll see," Sirius said, "In the common room."

James and Sirius had eaten their dinner the quickest out of nearly all of Gryffindor house, and rushed off to Gryffindor tower to mess with whatever Sirius had gotten. I shrugged at their antics, and Peter, Remus and I ate in relative silence, save for some snarky comments about Slytherins, or discussion of schoolwork. As much as I love Sirius and James, it's nice to be without the intensity for a bit.

After about thirty minutes, the two boys and I trekked up back to their dorm. Remus was at the front of our single-file line up the stairs. His body blocked my view of beyond the doorway, but his tired sigh signaled that Sirius and James had been up to no good. I pushed past him and stepped into the room. The dorm was a mess: pillows had been piled up, paper airplanes littered the ground, and a golden snitch was zipping about. It dawned on me that that's what Sirius had fetched for James during detention.

"You guys having fun?" I said with a smirk. Sirius stuck his tongue out at me and I returned the favour.

"This is a complete mess!" Remus exclaimed, and I was impressed that he could say anything since his jaw had hit the floor.

"It's been nearly an hour and James hasn't caught it yet. I gave up a while ago, myself," said Sirius from his bed. James was jumping from bed to bed, still trying to catch the thing.

"There's obviously something wrong with it," said James sourly, whose normally amused attitude had considerably dropped. "It's like it's repelled by us, or something." He frowned. "Where'd it go now?" he looked around.

Peter held up his palm. He had the snitch, which was laying calmly in his hand, its wings barely fluttering, as though it had been tamed. I gave Peter a surprised look. Sirius was even sitting up, having flung a copy of James' Quidditch magazine aside. "How in the bloody hell did you do that?" James demanded.

Peter simply shrugged, "It flew over and I just sort of grabbed it. Wasn't too hard, really, it was as though it wanted me to catch it." He stared at the little gold ball in his palm. "Maybe it was tired."

Sirius' eyebrows furrowed and he looked at James with concern.

James glowered, "Like I said, obviously there's something wrong with it if Peter can catch it before I can." He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

I stared at the door, then turned to look at little red-face Peter, confused Remus, and the dumbfounded Sirius. "Sore loser, isn't he?" Remus commented.

"I guess so," Sirius said.

"Don't take it personally, Pete, he's just a fox that believes in sour grapes." I said, patting the blond on the back.

Peter locked the snitch into the drawer of his nightstand upon the suggestion of Sirius, though the snitch didn't show even the slightest interest in attempting an escape. It lay serenely in Peter's palm and seemed more agitated once it was in the drawer than it had at being held his captive.

I needed to focus tonight, so I bid the boys goodnight and chose to do my homework in the common room instead. It was the first truly chilly night of autumn, so I laid my things out on the rug in front of the cosy fire and did my work there.

It was a little after midnight when I heard the portrait open, and footsteps. I perked up, and gave a smile to James as he walked in. "Hey, you okay?" James was panting and out of breath, but he nodded. "I thought you'd be caught by Filch for sure."

"Nearly was," he replied, dropping down to the rug beside me. "I got lost for the longest time before I recognised the Defense Against the Dark Arts corridor."

I raised my eyebrows, laughing. "Bloody hell, you did go for a jaunt, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Oh, and I heard Dumbledore and Tutman talking, too," he added, and told me that the two Professors were expressing concerns about some dark wizard named "Tom" trying to take over Hogwarts.

"That's really scary. Why would a dark wizard try to break into the school? Is there some secret hidden here that he would be interested in?"

James shrugged. "I don't know. But I think Tutman's got it under control for now,"

"That's true. And you said Dumbledore said that whoever it is won't be barging in so long as he's here, and Dumbledore's not going anywhere. Don't reckon the headmaster's going to take a holiday during term, do you?"

James laughed, and shook his head. He then snuck up to grab his homework, and we studied in each other's company til the wee hours in the morning.


	13. 14th September, 1971

It thankfully wasn't much of a challenge for James to get Peter to accept an apology for his insults. It took all of a minute for the five of us to be back to normal the day after the mysterious incident with the snitch. James continued to insist there was something funny about the way the snitch had behaved, but the rest of us believed that there wasn't anything wrong with the snitch, only with James' ego.

Our bigger concern was beginning to work on the map, which Sirius presented in a much more serious tone once James and Peter were on speaking terms again. He presented to us the plans he had worked on last night. I suggested that we work together during free periods in walking about the castle one level at a time, marking down all the different turns and corridors that we encountered. What we hadn't counted on was the abundance of time that walking the entire floor plan of the castle would take. We spent hours on that first day and hadn't even covered the full of the first floor before having to give it up to go to supper in the Great Hall.

"Blimey," James muttered as we'd settle onto the benches along the Gryffindor table, "At this rate, we'll be finishing our seventh year before we complete the map."

"Too bad we can't go out at night," Sirius commented, "Would make it a lot easier to get things done without constantly being interrupted by everybody." We'd been stopped several times as we passed by elder Gryffindor students that wanted to say hi to James, who was still a bit of a celebrity thanks to his gumball-catching stunts on the pitch.

"We'd be caught and thrown into detention by Filch," Remus said. "I don't know about you but I don't want to serve a detention with Filch."

"Neither do I," Peter piped up.

I nodded. "Merlin knows what he'd be having us do for it!"

"Scrubbing the toilets, most likely," Sirius said darkly.

James frowned, "Too bad there isn't a way to go at it without being seen."

"You'd have to be invisible," Sirius said.

Remus laughed, "Good luck casting the charm for that mate, you're still working on getting the hang of the Levitating Charm, aren't you?"

"_Wingardium leviosa!_" Sirius said, flicking his wand at my sandwich. It twitched slightly but didn't levitate.

"Good try, at least," Peter said.


	14. 17th September, 1971

The past few days were much of the same - classes, classes, mapping the castle, eating, homework, eating… it was today at lunch, just before our Gryffindor-Slytherin flying lesson that anything remotely interesting happened.

We were sitting at the table, eating sandwiches and crisps while laughing about the look on Professor McGonagall's face when she realised that Peter had successfully transfigured a matchstick into a pencil, only to discover that the pencil's rubbers were more flammable than they should have been when they lit up on fire, unprovoked. She'd nearly gone cross-eyed with shock, an expression that James was animatedly enacting for us with a certain theatrical flair that none of us particularly recalled McGonagall herself having. Suddenly there was a grunting sort of cough behind me, and all four of us turned to look at the oversized potions master, Horace Slughorn, staring down at us.

Well, specifically at Remus.

"Good afternoon, good afternoon!" Slughorn said, smiling brightly. He touched a palm to Remus' shoulder. "Mister Lupin, am I correct in assuming that you are Lyall Lupin's son?" he asked.

"Um… very, sir," Remus answered blankly. "Why?"

"My stars, boy," Professor Slughorn replied. "Your father is famous, isn't he? For having signed the Werewolf Restriction Act."

"Wrote it, more like," muttered James.

Remus nodded, "Yes sir, that was my dad."

Slughorn's face split wide with a toothy grin. "My boy!" he cried, chortling, "I don't know how I've forgotten to invite you along to a little get-together I am hosting this evening…"

"A party?" Sirius' face lit up at the words.

"I'm sorry, Clifford, I'm afraid it's only certain students who are invited, you understand, very exclusive…" Slughorn said.

"Sirius," Remus corrected him.

"Yes my boy, I am most serious!" Slughorn must have misunderstood, returning to Remus once more. "Most serious indeed. Come by my office this evening, after your flying lesson. We'll have food and drink at the party, of course. I'll see you there!" before Remus could say anything more, Professor Slughorn had waddled away, rubbing his thumb over his pocket watch once more.

"Ugh," complained Remus, turning back round to face us.

"What've you to complain about?" Sirius demanded, "You got invited, didn't you?"

"That's exactly what I've got to complain about!" Remus answered.

I shrugged, "It'll be fine, Remus, it sounds like fun. Hey, it might improve your abysmal Potions marks!"

I received a playful shove in response.

After another flying lesson before an audience, Remus parted ways with us in the Entrance Hall. James, Sirius, Peter and I went on into the Great Hall for supper, and to my (and especially James') delight the Gryffindor team let us sit with them and chat Quidditch.

Remus eventually came through the portrait hole later that night.

"How was the party?" Sirius asked right away.

"A right snooze," Remus replied. "We just sat around and listened while Slughorn talked about everybody's skills and parents," he rolled his eyes. "Nearly fell asleep a couple of times. Lily had to nudge me to wake me up."

James looked up from the History of Magic book he was reading. "Lily Evans was there?"

"Yeah," Remus answered. "She had good marks, Slughorn asked her there for her smarts. Said she's best in our class, but that's not surprising. Look at what she's got to compete against." He waved his hands around the room at the four of us.

I cracked my knuckles and smirked. "Wotcher, Remus."

Sirius asked, "Was that Severus Snape kid there?"

"No," Remus replied, and plopped down on the couch to begin his own homework. James looked back down at his book, although I got the distinct impression that he was no longer thinking about the Goblin Wars at all.


	15. 3rd October, 1971

September seemed to pass by in a flash. The leaves on the scary Whomping Willow slowly turned gold and burnt orange, falling onto the grounds. There was a bite to the air that made me think of hot chocolate. I sat on the windowsill in my dorm room this afternoon, staring out across the grounds and the Forbidden Forest, which looked like a watercolour painting I'd once seen at an art museum with my parents. I felt a slight pang in my stomach as I thought about my parents, and homesickness had begun to eat at me. There was a part of me that had been dreading the start of October, which had always been my favourite month, between Hallowe'en and my birthday. But this is the first October without my family, and I've grown a bit homesick.

Lily, who was doing homework at her desk, spoke up, which startled me. "I always wonder how you can stomach those boys."

I turned away from the window to look at her. "Well, Remus and Peter are pretty nice," I said.

She gave me a look, which said _you know who I mean_.

"They're just immature, mostly," I explained. "They're not bad people."

"Sirius Black is a bully," Lily argued, "...and James Potter couldn't be more arrogant if he tried."

I shrugged, "James talks a big line but, you know, between us, I think he does it because his self-esteem is rubbish."

Lily scoffed, "Uh huh."

"I could be wrong, of course, but that's my view on it," I said.

"And what's Black's excuse?" Lily demanded, "Not self-esteem as well?"

I shook my head, "Sirius' family is his excuse. Doesn't know any better, does he?"

"Maybe he should learn," Lily suggested hotly.

"He will," I answered, "I think he's beginning to." Otherwise, he certainly wouldn't be friends with me, would he?

Lily shrugged, and went back to her essay. I looked back out the window. I doubt my words were enough to change Lily's mind, but I at least hope that it gave her an opening to view them a bit differently.

It was two o'clock in the morning that night when I awoke suddenly from a dream. I laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, where the trail of moonlight cut through the darkness, trying to reorient myself with where I was. In my dream, I was in the Forbidden Forest, running with several woodland creatures: canines, rodents, deer, foxes, birds, etc. The animals had been a comfort to me, such as I'd never felt before. I didn't know where we'd been going or why we were running through the forest, but I'd been completely at peace, certain that as long as the animals were around me, I was safe. I hugged the blankets to my chest and breathed deeper, in order to catch the crisp air of autumn.

There was a sound out in the common room that jostled me awake again. I realised that the sound had probably been what had woken me up to begin with, and I wondered what it was. I deftly rolled out of bed, pulled on my robe, and stepped into some slippers, careful not to wake Lily, who was still sound asleep. I snuck from my bedroom to the top of the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories. Peering over the edge, I saw a figure just stepping through the portrait hole… it was one of the first year boys.

"Of course it is," I whispered, shaking my head with amusement, "Sneaking off somewhere…" I hurried down the steps, determined to find out what they were doing, and figure out a way to help and prevent them from being caught. My footsteps were practically silent as I rushed to catch the common room door before it fully closed and I peered into the darkness beyond the portrait hole. I saw no one there in the corridor.

I hesitated for a moment, afraid that _I_ would be caught out in the halls. But I bit my tongue and crawled through the hole anyway, and moved quickly down the stairs after the boys.

I heard footsteps ahead and I hurried to catch up, sure that they were probably Peter's. He seemed to be the least stealthy out of the four of them, and the most likely to do something stupid enough to get caught. We were nearly to the Entrance Hall, and I worried about how far we were, how dangerous it would be to be caught by Filch and Mrs. Norris, likely leading to expulsion. I can't even imagine how furious my parents would be if I was expelled before Hallowe'en!

Suddenly, we were at the Grand Staircase. I heard the steps creaking, and was about to rush down after them and reveal myself when I spotted a figure that made my heart stop. It was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I jumped back behind the banister, thankful for the darkness that filled the first floor corridor and had kept me hidden, and ducked down to watch between the rungs. On the stairs, I realised, was only one figure, and to my surprise, it was just Remus… with no sign of the other three.

Of the four of them, I would have least expected this kind of behaviour from Remus.

But there he was, about to be caught by Dumbledore. Would he give Remus detention, or simply send him off on the next train to London? Would Dumbledore be furious at him? I pictured what it might be like if the headmaster shouted and chills ran along my spine… Dumbledore didn't seem like the type who would be very pleasant when he was angry. I waited with baited breath, scared of what would come next, and very much afraid that I might be caught too, if the moonlight shifted too much.

"Good evening, Remus," Dumbledore said. The sound of his voice and cheerfulness of his tone surprised me, and my eyebrows stitched together.

"Hullo, sir," Remus answered.

Dumbledore was leading Remus across the Entrance Hall now, toward the doors to the Great Hall, his hand on Remus' shoulders. "You do remember how to get in, I assume?" he asked.

"Yes, sir."

Dumbledore smiled. "Very good," he said, and his beard looked silver in the moonlight. "Very good, my boy." he opened the doors to the castle, allowing even more moonlight in, and I had to move to keep myself from being lit up in the corridor, my heart pounding rapidly against my rib cage. "We shall see you again soon, Mister Lupin," Dumbledore's voice called. I couldn't see any more from my new hiding place, but I heard the doors close and Dumbledore relocked them, muttering a spell as he replaced enchantments he must've broken before.

Then, a most terrible sound… _Dumbledore was climbing the stairs!_

I held my breath, being very careful to stay crouched in the darkness beside the suit of armour I'd chosen as my cover, and pressed myself against the wall as tightly as I could. But it was no use. Albus Dumbledore came to a stop directly in front of me. I looked up at him, my eyes pleading him to not expel me for being out of bed. I had the excuses already building in the back of my throat.

"S-sir, I…" I began.

"Miss Stratford," he said quietly, "I shall keep your secret… if you will keep ours?"

It took me a moment to process what he was saying. I wasn't in trouble? As long as I kept it a secret I'd seen Dumbledore let Remus out of the castle? That was easy enough! I nodded eagerly.

Dumbledore smiled, "Very good. Now pip-pip, off to bed with you."

I leapt to my feet and ran back to Gryffindor tower, my heart racing, still afraid of meeting Mrs. Norris or Filch. But I didn't pass another soul - not even a ghost - all the way up to the tower.

"_Wrackspurt!_" I called to the portrait as I approached and the Fat Lady swung open with a yawn. I rushed through the common room, up the stairs to the dorms, and into my bedroom, which I was very pleased indeed to see. That had been my first, and I soon decided, last venture through the portrait hole during forbidden hours.

I turned myself over in bed and sank into the pillows in relief. I would've fallen asleep except the moment I closed my eyes, I began to wonder what the secret was that I was keeping, exactly, and weather, really, it was the sort of secret that really ought to be kept…


	16. 4th and 5th October, 1971

_4th October:_

This morning, I decided that I wouldn't be breaking any unspoken deals with Dumbledore if I asked Remus himself what I'd seen. I planned to find out exactly what the secret was that I was keeping - I felt that I deserved at least that much as a secret-keeper. So I went to breakfast in the Great Hall, intending to pull Remus aside from our group and demand details from him. But when I arrived in the Great Hall, there were only three of the four Gryffindor first year boys at the table.

Remus didn't show up at any of our classes, either, nor at lunch.

I sat quietly at dinner, watching James and Sirius bewitch their potato jackets to dance about on their plates, while Peter clapped excitedly. I would have gotten a kick out of it, too, but I just wasn't in the mood.

Finally, unable to hold it back any longer, I cleared my throat. "Hey, Potter."

I guess my voice was harsher than I thought, because James nearly dropped his wand, causing the potato jacket to flip backwards onto the floor at his feet. Sirius laughed heartily as he ducked to retrieve it. "What's up?"

"Where's Remus?" I asked.

"I don't know," James said, shrugging. "The Hospital Wing, I think?"

My eyebrows furrowed, "Is he ill?"

"Yeah," James said.

"What from?" I questioned rhetorically, not expecting James to know. He hadn't _seemed_ sick at dinner yesterday, nor when I'd followed him along the corridors last night.

James shrugged.

"Something chronic, I bet," Sirius spoke up quickly, leaning around James. Peter pointed his wand at the potato jacket on his plate, but couldn't succeed in casting the spell correctly. "It's probably the same as last month, I bet," Sirius added, turning to Peter to show him how to hold his wand correctly to cast the charm on the potato.

I had nearly forgotten that Remus had been missing for several days last month, too. I'm now wondering if he really was sick then, or did he leave the castle, too?

The boys continued with their antics, but I remained lost in thought of Remus and his secret.

Later that evening Sirius and James had gone up to bed, and so Peter and I were working in the common room. Peter nudged me, and so I looked at him. "What's up?"

"Do you fancy him?" Peter asked.

"Fancy who?" I said, "Dumbledore?"

"No," Peter said, giggling, "Remus."

I shook my head, scrunching my nose, "No, I don't," I said. "I'm just concerned about him, that's all."

"Oh," Peter said, turning back to his book.

I sighed and returned back to my Potions essay.

_5th October:_

Peter hadn't arrived at breakfast at the same time Sirius and James had. The two sat down to join me, and the first words out of Sirius' mouth were, "Do you fancy Peter?"

I gagged, "Merlin, no! Why is it that everyone's been asking me who I fancy? Fun fact, the answer is NO ONE!"

James began laughing, "Well last night, we were getting ready for bed, and Peter said you did. Well, more like he said you didn't fancy Remus, so we asked if you told him who you _did_, and he smiled and didn't respond. We knew it was a load of tosh, but it didn't hurt to make sure."

I shook my head, "Even if I did fancy someone, it wouldn't be _Peter Pettigrew_ of all people! He can't fly a broomstick to save his life, his marks are the lowest in the entire first year, his entire personality is based on idolising James...shall I go on?"

Sirius laughed, "No need to, it's enough in itself!"

Peter came down just as we burst into laughter, and asked what was so funny. I hastily changed the subject.

We agreed to go up to the Hospital wing and visit Remus after Herbology. When we'd finished going over various plants and fungi with Professor Viridi, we ran back up to the castle and through the halls to our destination. All the way, Peter second-guessed our choice to visit our ill comrade. "What if he's got Cauldron Pox?" Peter questioned.

"Then I guess you'd better get ready for oozing boils all over your face, huh?" Sirius laughed, leading the way along the corridor.

Peter didn't look amused at all. "Cauldron Pox is no laughing matter," he argued. "Haven't you ever seen 'em? My gran had 'em once; she was _covered_ in boils, so much you couldn't hardly recognise her!"

James rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Peter? Are you a Gryffindor or not?"

"The way he's acting, he's more like a blubbering Hufflepuff." I said, high-fiving James.

Peter scowled. "If you're calling me a coward because I'm nervous about catching Cauldron Pox, then you obviously don't understand how contagious-" he'd stopped talking mid-sentence, though, for we'd arrived at the Hospital Wing. Sirius led the way inside, quite boldly I may add.

Madam Pomfrey was measuring out a potion that smelled like mouldy socks. She looked up at us when we walked into the room. At the far end of the wing was a moaning Ravenclaw third year who I heard had fallen from his broomstick during Quidditch practice on the pitch. Other than him, the wing was empty.

"No visitors!" Madam Pomfrey announced. "Mister Turin has a kneecap to regrow, he needn't be bothered right now. Out with the lot of you."

Peter started to scurry off at once, but Sirius grabbed his collar. I stepped forward, and politely said, "Actually, we're not here to visit Turin, we're here to see Remus Lupin. Can we see him?"

"Remus Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey looked confused. "I haven't seen Remus Lupin. Now out, you. Go." She shooed us into the hall roughly and shut the door behind us.

We exchanged a bunch of confused looks. "He's not in the Hospital Wing?" Sirius said, his eyebrows screwing up into a perplexed expression. "So where's he been at then?" I made sure to keep my mouth quiet. Seems to me that he's likely wherever he went when he left the castle.

"Dunno," murmured James, looking puzzled.

Peter said, "Isn't it obvious? I told you Cauldron Pox was dangerously contagious - they've obviously sent him off to St. Mungo's."

"We don't know that he's _got_ Cauldron Pox," James reminded Peter with exasperation. "That was just a theory, don't you remember?"

"Besides, I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey can cure Cauldron Pox without sending students off to St. Mungo's," said Sirius.

"Maybe he had a family emergency," I suggested. "You know, like a death in the family or something." That would certainly fit the theory, but if that was the case, what had happened last month?

"Perhaps," mused Sirius, but he was less than convinced.

"Think he'll come back?" Peter asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" James asked.

"Well, he's missed a lot of classes," Peter pointed out.

I shook my head. "He's got good marks."

Peter sounded miserable, it was quite pathetic. "That's true, I 'spose. If it were me and I missed that many classes, I'd never catch up."

"They'd just have you repeat the year, probably," I said, as we started down the hallway.

"Or else they'd just officially declare you a squib," James taunted.

Peter scrambled to keep up. "I'm not a squib," he argued.

We all laughed, and walked on up to Gryffindor tower to complete our astronomy homework, but I wasn't really able to concentrate on any of the charts and books… I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with Remus. Sirius, too, seemed quieter than usual.


	17. 6th October, 1971

It still continued to bother me, the longer Remus' absence became. What truly puzzled me was the fact that none of the teachers seemed to either notice nor care where Remus was at. Sure, Binns barely noticed if any of us were there at all..._ever_… but Flitwick, for instance, is much more attentive. But he hadn't said a word during our Charms class that morning.

Sirius decided to speak up about the matter later during Transfiguration, as he raised his hand.

"Yes, Mister Black?" McGonagall asked.

"Do you happen to know where Remus is?" he asked, before adding a quick "Ma'am," to the end. We all stared up at her hopefully.

Professor McGonagall's stern eyes peered down at Sirius as she stood before him at the desk. "Does Mister Lupin's location somehow affect your ability to transfigure that pin cushion into a porcupine?" she asked.

"Well," Sirius hesitated, "No, professor, but-"

"Then it does not matter at this time, does it?" she asked rhetorically, with a tone of finality.

I frowned down the table over Remus' empty seat. When Professor McGonagall turned back to her chalkboard, Lily leaned over me and hissed, "I thought you said Remus was in the hospital wing?"

I sighed and shrugged. "Why do you care all of a sudden? Do _you_ fancy him?"

McGonagall cleared her throat. "The speaking I overhear better be a discussion about the task at hand."

Lily frowned, then grabbed hold of her pin cushion and waved her wand. "_Ericius factus!"_ and suddenly before her sat a quivering porcupine.

"Bloody hell," Peter said, glancing over. "How'd you manage that?" I too was in awe at how she executed it so quickly.

McGonagall turned around. "Oh _very good_, Miss Evans! Ten points to Gryffindor."

"I don't fancy Remus," Lily whispered to me as McGonagall inspected the porcupine proudly. "I'm just curious."

I nodded in understanding, and went back to desperately casting the spell, but all I could seem to do was make my pin cushion turn brown.

That evening at supper, Sirius spoke up a few minutes after we had sat down, "Well there you are at last," I looked up to see Remus sinking down next to me. He looked tired enough to fall over. "Been bloody wondering where you've been." Sirius added.

"And don't say Madam Pomfrey's either, cos we tried to visit you," I said.

Peter gave Remus a suspicious eye. "You didn't have Cauldron Pox, did you?" he asked.

"Cauldron Pox?" Remus exclaimed, "No! Galloping gargoyles, I'd look like that Mulciber bloke in Slytherin if I had!" James snickered and high-fived Remus for the burn against the notoriously nasty Slytherin student. I would laugh if I didn't have this nagging feeling in the back of my stomach. "I just… I had to kip home for a bit, that's all."

"You went home?" Peter sounded surprised.

"Family emergency, then?" James asked.

"Y-yeah, something like that."

James turned to Sirius, "I told you! You owe me a chocolate frog, mate."

Remus blinked in surprise, "You were betting on where I was?"

James nodded as Sirius dug a chocolate frog from his book bag and chucked it at James. But I didn't want this conversation to cease until I got a sufficient explanation for what I saw Sunday night. "So what was the emergency? Nobody died or anything, I hope?" I asked.

Remus shook his head, "Nobody died."

"So what was so important that Dumbledore let you leave Hogwarts for?" I pushed. Unfortunately I didn't get an answer as it was at that moment that said headmaster stood up, waving his palms for silence in the Hall.

"Before we begin eating," Dumbledore said, his voice magically amplified throughout the Great Hall, "I do have an announcement to make. In light of recent discoveries, the school will be shutting down access to the floo network as a form of communication within house common rooms until further notice." A great deal of complaint rippled through the Hall and Dumbledore raised his voice to carry over it until the protests had died down. "Floo network access will be limited to just a few rooms of the castle, and will require the use of a network pass, which can be obtained from your head of house. The network will be monitored. There are dark wizards in this world, and I must caution those whose wishes are to communicate with them that there is much at risk. Much indeed. Do think twice before joining the ranks of those who request your allegiance, rather than earn it." Dumbledore stared around the room carefully, then clapped his hands together. "Let's eat!"

Sirius grinned as we turned to our food. "Well there's my excuse for not flooing home to Mother."

"Who do you suppose was talking to dark wizards on the school's floo network?" I asked.

"Some prats, that's who!" James exclaimed. "Now I actually have to write letters if I want to reach home!"

"Probably some git from Slytherin," said Sirius darkly, and I looked over at the Slytherin table across the hall. "Perhaps it was Snivellus. He looks awful guilty."

Peter and James turned to look at the greasy boy with me, while Remus gnawed on the bone of the chicken leg he had just finished.

"That Lucius bloke seems mighty smug, too, doesn't he?" I commented.

"I'm sure he's involved somehow. His family's close to the Dark Lord," said Sirius lowly. "He's cousins on one side and his girlfriend, Narcissa, she's my cousin too. They're both quite nasty." Sirius scowled.

"They should chuck the lot of Slytherin out," boasted James in a carrying voice, "Filthy lot they are; too keen on blood purity to give a damn about being any good!" He shrugged to someone further down the table, who I saw was Lily staring at him with a disapproving look. "Lot of traitors, they are, only interested in power and being better than everyone else. Well they aren't any better."

I don't exactly know how I feel about this discussion of blood purity, so I just kept my head low and focused on my pasta, eating in near silence save for some small talk with Remus and Peter, trying to drown out James and Sirius going on and on about Slytherins and their bloodlines.

Later in the evening, around midnight, we Gryffindor first years, along with the Ravenclaws were huddled on the top of the Astronomy Tower with Professor Zosma. We were setting up our telescopes, preparing to begin our star charts.

Lily had pointedly separated herself a few feet away from any of us, likely still annoyed by James earlier. She, of course, had already assembled her telescope completely before any of us had. Remus was a far second, followed closely by me, but we had still completed ours before James and Sirius, not to mention poor Peter, who I eventually lent a hand to.

Professor Zosma walked along behind us, instructing us in the degrees to which our telescopes needed to be aimed. "Tonight, we will be talking about Uranus…"

Sirius cackled.

"...and the meaning of its placement in the sky," Zosma finished, ignoring Sirius. "Have you all correctly aimed your scopes? You should see Uranus to the left."

I grinned as I saw the faint blue glow of the planet from a distance, but was soon distracted by some movement next to me. I looked and saw James aiming his telescope at Sirius' rear end. "I see Uranus, Sirius," he said, and it took a lot out of me not to burst into giggles.

Sirius was not as successful at holding back. He laughed so hard he snorted.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Really!" she said in indignation.

"Really," snickered James.

I helped him realign the scope to find the planet as Zosma continued lecturing us.

"Who's that down on the lawn?" asked Peter suddenly.

I looked at the blond boy in confusion. Peter's scope wasn't even aimed at the sky. I guess in trying to copy James' joke, he'd managed to throw off the aim of the scope so abysmally that he was looking down past the Whomping Willow towards the shore of the Black Lake. Sure enough, there was a dark figure there, walking along in the shadows of the forest.

"Can I see?" I asked.

Peter moved for me to peer through his scope. Adjusting the focus for my eyes, I watched the figure moving, skulking along. _It looks rather familiar, _I thought, and I waited for the figure to step into the relief of the moonlight.

My eyes widened. "I think it's Professor Tutman!" I said in surprise.

"What would Tutman be doing on the grounds at this hour?" hissed James. He'd whirled his scope to take a look, too, and Sirius peered into James' scope.

"Does look like him, though," said Sirius.

"Funny," pondered Remus. "I wonder what he's up to." he gave us a puzzled expression. I simply shrugged.

Even after we had returned to looking at Uranus, I noticed that Peter never stopped watching Tutman.


	18. 14th and 40th October, 1971

**_14th October, 1971_**

October's moved along quickly as we've stayed busy with classes and homework. We've managed to get through mapping the first two floors of the castle, having marked off all the basic landmarks along the corridors on a couple of large sheets of parchment that Sirius kept locked in his trunk. Despite our efforts, however, to be sure we opened every door and looked in every nook and cranny, we still felt that we were missing parts of the castle. It seemed that Filch could materialise from one part of the castle to another instantly.

"Perhaps he's disapparating?" James suggested this evening as we walked across the grounds to the pitch for flying lessons.

Remus shook his head. "Bilius said there isn't any apparating on school grounds. That's why they're scheduled to practise out in Hogsmeade."

"Well bloody hell," mumbled Sirius, who had been quite excited by the idea, "How _is_ he doing it, then?"

We all were getting pretty good at flying in our lessons on the pitch with Madam Hooch. Somehow I was the only one who came close to flying as well as James, and he thankfully encouraged what he called my "natural talent". I was happy to finally surpass Lily in something. She seemed to be the best in just about every subject and in all honesty it was quite frustrating. Professor Slughorn simply adored her, doting over every potion she brewed as though she were some sort of prodigy. All of the teachers were forever marvelling over Lily and her talents.

On the other end, James and Sirius were becoming known less for their marks and more for their talent of getting in (and out of) trouble. They were always up to some sort of no good and the teachers were endlessly keeping their eyes on them, both in and out of classes. It wasn't uncommon to be sitting in the Gryffindor common room and hear a shriek of surprise as some unfortunate soul happened upon a booby trap or a practical joke of some kind that they'd set up. One of my personal favourites had been a spell that I gave Sirius that I had found in a book, which set a little rain cloud on Peter that wouldn't stop pouring down upon him. This had been great until the counter-charm had failed to work and we had to present our tomfoolery to Professor McGonagall in order to get the rain turned off. She'd been most disapproving and had taken five points from Gryffindor for it.

The first Quidditch match of the season is a hot topic around the school at the moment. It would be between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and there was a lot of speculation about the teams, which both had apparently been granted a new captain over the summer because the previous captains had graduated. It's going to be an exciting event, and, to triple the excitement, it's on the day before Hallowe'en, on which there is supposed to be a massive holiday feast!

**_30th October, 1971_**

Today's the day where I see my first Quidditch match! I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! But I had to because I was shivering due to the rainy weather. The boys and I bundled up to brace ourselves against the cold, refusing to miss the match over a spot of poor weather. Seems like we weren't the only ones to brave it, either, it seemed most of the school was trooping down to the pitch in their galoshes and rain jackets. James asked me to help him cast the Impervious Charm to keep rain from getting on his trademark maroon and gold trainers.

Despite the rain, the stands were alive with anticipation. I was happy to see that Sirius had saved a box of Bertie Botts' for us to share in the stands while we waited for the game to begin. The boys and I laughed and swapped beans with each other, daring each other to eat the ones that looked like they'd taste nasty. I was starting to get antsy and quite bored after Peter refused to eat another one of the nasty beans no matter how many triple-hippogriff-dare-yous we issued him, when there came a ripple of excitement all around me.

Madam Hooch had stepped onto the pitch below… the doors to the locker rooms were opening up… and there came the Hufflepuff team… and then the Gryffindors…

"Welcome everyone to the first match of the '71-'72 Hogwarts House Championship Quidditch Season!" The commentator was a Ravenclaw fourth year named Oskar. I recognised him as he was one of the people that had stopped us to oogle over James while we were mapping the first floor corridors. "We begin this season with a match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor!" A considerable applause went up for each of the houses, though the Slytherins booed mightily for the Gryffindor team and nobody had booed for Hufflepuff.

"Gits," I muttered, scowling toward the little huddle of green and silver at the end of the pitch.

"New captains Wally Jones and Derek Bell approach one another for the customary handshake… and the snitch is released! We're off!" Oskar's voice picked up with excitement as he offered up a play-by-play of the action,

James and Sirius immediately leaped about on the stands, shouting maniacally at the players, waving their arms in glee. I myself resisted the urge to join them, but I was shaking with excitement. Derek Bell was fantastic as a chaser, moving with speed among the other players in his scarlet Quidditch robes. "Bell with the quaffle," said Oskar's magically magnified voice over the pitch's full stands, "Dodges Jasper Kensington's bludger, round to keeper, Jones…. Shoots and… he SCORES! Ten to zero, Gryffindor!"

We all went wild as Derek's throw went through the gold hoop at the end of the pitch, and James did a sort of jig in his seat. Even Lily and Alice, who were sitting at the far end of the row we were in, seemed impressed and clapped for Derek's good job done.

I smiled at James, who was happier than I think I'd ever seen him before. "Just think, mate, next year it'll be _you_ that's the star they're all clapping for." James laughed and hugged me.

Sirius chimed in as well, "You'll be the _star_ of the Quidditch team, and you'll have the girls queuing up to be round you in no time. Anybody looking to be with you ought to have a go at it now, while you're still available!"

I looked back to Lily, who had sniffed and turned away.

"Bloody hell, Sirius," laughed James, "What're you going on about? I'd give 'em all a shot, if they'd have me," he said, side-eyeing Lily, who, although she'd turned away, I could tell was still listening.

"Maybe we could hold a lottery," Sirius said, "Like the muggles do with their pounds… only instead of galleons you'd be the prize."

I giggled, sticking my tongue out playfully, "I wouldn't even pay a knut!" I received a light shove from the bespectacled boy and laughed even harder.

Oskar's voice broke over us, ending the conversation. "Rowling blocks Roekby's attempt at the quaffle… it goes back to Bell… to Weasley… off to Bones… quaffle's in Hufflepuff's possession now. Bones with the quaffle… down the bitch… aims… Rowling dives but Bones scores! Tied game!"

"Damn!" shouted Sirius.

"Watch your tongue, Mister Black," came Professor McGonagall's voice from behind us, making all five of us jump in surprise, having not realised that she was so close at hand… directly behind us, to be exact!

The game's action only picked up as the quaffle moved about the pitch from player to player. Bilius Weasley scored and the Slytherins booed loudly, a cry led by the pale-faced Lucius Malfoy, which angered me to no end. He yelled something that set Bilius off and Derek Bell had to hold Bilius back from marching off the pitch into the stands to clobber Malfoy.

"T'aint worth it, mate," I heard Derek shouting at Bilius.

The score was climbing steadily, though, despite Slytherin's nasty attitude, and soon the game was 110-90, Gryffindor only just holding onto the lead throughout. It was then that I spotted it - the golden snitch, hovering nearby, seeming to watch the game itself from a high vantage point. The rain made it damn near impossible to see it, as the sun wasn't reflected off its gold, but I'm certain at what I saw. "There's the snitch," I said to James, pointing, but not even James could see it. Neither, it seemed, could either of the seekers.

It was mighty frustrating for me, because it was almost close enough for me to grab!

"Blimey, why can't they see that thing, it's _right there!_" I shouted as the seekers zipped about, searching without seeing.

"I think you're the only one that can," Remus said, squinting in the direction I was frantically pointing.

I was more astounded that James couldn't see it either. "There… _right there_" I said, "By Tinnamin's shoe! OI! TINNAMIN!" I shouted, waving at the snitch with all my might.

The seventh year seeker for Gryffindor's team, Andy Tinnamin seemed to only just hear my shout over the pounding rain and he looked over, as if trying to spot it. I was pointing as frantically as I could. Tinnamin looked down and finally seemed to see it! With a dive that blew all of our minds, Tinnamin shot forward and snatched the snitch up in his palms faster than you could say the word Quidditch.

"I don't believe it!" yelled Oskar, "I don't believe it! Gryffindor wins with the snitch 260-90! Good try, Hufflepuff!"

The crowd went wild and we were chanting the Gryffindor seeker's name with enthusiasm. James hissed in my ear "Let's go," I saw he was looking at Professor McGonagall, and her expression was torn between anger that I had interfered and thankful that I had.

I nodded "Yes, let's, before she decides how she feels about this all." I nudged Remus and the five of us slipped away from the stands before McGonagall could turn on us for me pointing out the snitch to Tinnamin.

Later that night, the common room was abuzz with excitement, even after everyone had started to settle down and relax for the night. The five of us were laying on the carpet in front of the fire doing our revisions when Derek, Bilius, Andy, and the other players of the Gryffindor team came in through the portrait hole. Bilius carried a bag stuffed with sweets and treats from the kitchens, a bottle of butterbeer in his fist, and a grin on his face as he waved his arms about excitedly for everyone to see. "Hey all, snacks on the Gryffindor win!" he shouted as the whole house leaped back into excited action around him, collecting treats and butterbeers from the sack as though he were Father Christmas or something. "To Tinnamin!" shouted Bilius excitedly, cheersing to Andy.

Andy raised his bottle, but before taking a sip he said, "Really we owe it all to this one here!" he pointed right at me and my cheeks felt hot.

"To Stratford?" Derek asked in surprise as half the room turned to look at me.

"I hadn't seen the snitch and she spotted it from the stands and shouted and pointed it out to me," Tinnamin explained, turning and raising his glass to me instead. "To you, Stratford."

"To Stratford!" Bilius called out. Everyone who had grabbed a butterbeer already shouted 'here, here!' and the four boys grinned at me, miming lifting a glass with their empty hands.

"Ruddy good job, Stratford!" Derek exclaimed proudly.

Andy grinned. "Reckon you have a shot at replacing me next year, even," he said, winking at me. My stomach churned. Could I really have a shot on the Quidditch team? It seemed like all the talent in our year had been given to James.

The players were submerged in excited Gryffindors collecting their snacks and shouting congrats to them and thanking me. James elbowed me playfully, "You better not steal my spot on the team next year," I stuck my tongue out at him.


	19. 31st October and 1st November, 1971

**_31st October, 1971_**

Hallowe'en morning came with the grandeur that I would expect of a holiday. There were no classes as it was a Sunday, yet it seemed like everyone was up early and the common room was a ruckus of noise. We all were shouting and laughing, messing 'round with one another and talking with excitement about the feast. Bilius told us about the floating candles and jack 'o'lanterns that filled the air all 'round the long tables in the Great Hall. There were shouts and squeals of excitement as we talked, and I couldn't wait!

The Great Hall was tressed up quite marvelously, the air filled with grinning pumpkin lanterns and black, dripping candles that flickered their lights across the walls. The tables had been covered with orange and black cloths, and snaked along them were decorative cobwebs (spider-free, of course). Professor Slughorn had brewed a potion that bubbled in the front of the Hall, near the staff table where he could keep an eye on it, that spread about a pleasant scene that conjured the spirit of Halloween festivities deep within one's fibres. I couldn't help but feel an excited thrill as a waft of all the sweets made its way up my nose. I stared around a moment from the doors, admiring the way the ghosts seemed to be more transparent, nearly fully formed. Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost was floating overhead, talking with the Bloody Baron and the Fat Friar. I could easily see the fine details in the lace on the ruff that surrounded Nick's neck stump. It was quite impressive.

"Wotcher, Sabrina! Let's go in already!" Sirius called out as the four boys ran towards me. James grabbed the sleeve of my robes and we went into the Hall to join in on the festivities.

**_1st November, 1971_**

As though the weather was waiting for Hallowe'en to be over to begin its assault on the castle, I woke up this morning to find the grounds of Hogwarts had been coated overnight with a light dusting of snow. Not even enough to fully cover the grass. The boys and I agreed that, after a double Defense class, we'd go outside during our break for lunch and have a snowball fight. But by the time Defense was over, the snow had melted in the afternoon sun.

"Bloody classes," complained James, shoving his glasses up his nose with a frown of disappointment. "Always sapping off the fun of things, aren't they?" Even as we trooped across the grounds after lunch, headed for the Herbology greenhouses, we still didn't find enough snow for a fight, though Sirius did manage to scrape up just enough to throw a dirty ball the size of a bludger at Peter, who danced about as some of the snow broke apart and slipped down the back of his robes.

"We ought to sneak out of the common room tonight and see if we can add to our map," suggested Sirius quietly as we worked on extracting Bubotuber pod. He looked round at the four of us with an eager grin.

"Yeah," agreed James, "I'm telling you, there's got to be more to the Third Floor. We never did find a corridor that connected through the centre, like it seems Filch sometimes uses. There _has _to be some door or turn we've missed!"

Remus stared very hard at the Bubotubers. "Maybe we shouldn't be going out at night at all," he said.

"Afraid of Filch then, are you?" I prodded.

Remus shook his head, "No, I just don't think it's a very wise idea. Sirius and James have had enough detentions already, and Merlin knows what'll happen if McGonagall catches _you_ out of the dormitory in the middle of the night."

I shrugged, "So I get detention for the first time and we get a couple points taken off Gryffindor. What we're working for is for the benefit of generations of future Gryffindors!" I said heartily, "It's worth a couple points!"

Remus shrugged, "I just don't think it's a very good idea, that's all."

"So stay in the dormitory then," Sirius said.

Remus didn't reply.

Peter spoke up instead, perhaps seeing his opportunity to be more favoured than Remus for once. "I don't think it's such a terrible idea," he said, glancing at Remus with a sort of apologetic look, before giving James, Sirius and I one of a rebellious nature.

"Well, good, then," said James, before whispering to Sirius and I, "He'd make for an excellent scapegoat, should we need to make a quick escape." I snickered.

"Peter," Sirius said, "You come along and Remus can stay in the Gryffindor common room like a prat."

"I'm _not_ a prat," Remus said hotly, "I just don't fancy breaking the rules and ending up expelled!" he glowered down at the Bubotubers and when the bell rang signalling the end of class, he got up and huffed away, leaving us behind as he rushed out of the greenhouses.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "When did Remus get to be so uptight anyway?" he asked me as we brought the jar of pus we'd extracted up to Professor Viridi's desk amongst a throng of Hufflepuffs.

"Dunno," I answered with a shrug.

When we got up to the common room, Remus wasn't anywhere to be found. I figured he'd stormed off to brood someplace alone. I grabbed hold of the roll of parchments we'd been using for the map, one sheet for each floor, and held them up while Sirius started cutting a new sheet to the same measurements as the others for the next floor for our venture out into the halls tonight. Meanwhile, James and Peter got a bit of homework done before supper.

But Remus never showed up to supper.

"He's gone and disappeared again," James whispered to us.

I nodded, deep in thought. He's disappeared _again_, for the - what? The third time now since the start of term? What on earth could possibly be going on at home that would draw him away three times in as many months? I rubbed my chin, leaning my elbow on the edge of the table. Three times in three months… I wracked my memory trying to recall if the dates when Remus had been absent were the same each month. But no, they couldn't have been, as it was 1st November, and on 1st September we'd been on the Hogwarts Express together. It had been a few days into the term before Remus went missing. And again in October… slightly less than a full month ago… but there _did_ seem to be some sort of pattern to it.

I returned to earth as I was kicked in the knee by James. "Oi, Sabrina, you still with us?"

"Huh?" I shook my head and looked over at James, Sirius and Peter. Peter laughed a bit. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"Is it that unusual that you're thinking that it's so noticeable, then?" Sirius teased.

"Imagine what it'd be like if _you_ were thinking," I replied back with a smirk, "All of England would have a holiday in honour of the rare occasion."

"A proper bank holiday, even?" James questioned with a grin.

"Of course," I replied, "Even the goblins would take a day off. Or else they'd drop dead from the shock of it when they heard the news that your gears were grinding in there."

The three of us laughed while Peter ate a carrot, looking quite out of place of our jeering fun, before finally interrupting our giggles, "So when are we going to… you know…" he glanced about to be sure none of the other Gryffindors were listening, "Go and work on the map?" he asked.

"Tonight," Sirius replied, "Maybe 'round midnight or so?"

James nodded, "Brilliant."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "So, are we really not gonna bring Remus along?" I felt terribly guilty of that whole thing from earlier.

"If Remus is round we'll ask him of course," James answered. At the same time Sirius cried, "Let the prat stay in the dorms!" James and I frowned at him.

"It's his map, too," I said.

"But if he's so afraid of a detention-"

"He's just worried about his marks," James said with a wave of his hand, "You know Lupin, he's worried about things like that. Deep down, he's our kind of guy, just a bit more cautious. Bet his folks make a big deal about his marks or something. His mum's a Muggle, isn't she? Muggles put a lot of stock in marks and the like, right?"

I nodded, "Pretty much, yeah. Sometimes it seems like that's the only way your worth is judged in the Muggle world."

"Well we've plenty of time to worry about marks when we're older," Sirius said with a shrug. "Not as if we're being made to choose careers and take OWLs this year. Might as well have a bit of fun before we get on taking things seriously." He grabbed a piece of treacle tart. "Besides, I dunno, there's something else funny about Remus."

"Something else funny?" James asked around a bite of pork.

"Yeah," Sirius replied.

"Like what?" Peter asked.

"Like this disappearing bit he does every month," Sirius replied. "Where's he go?"

James was cutting his chops up into little bites. "He said he went home."

"But why?"

"Family emergency," James answered. "Remember?"

"Once a month?" I challenged.

Peter was nibbling at an ear of corn. "Maybe he has a standing dentist appointment." The three of us looked at him with raised eyebrows. Peter swallowed hard and turned red, "It was just a suggestion," he said.

"_Every month_ since the start of term," Sirius emphasised his last point, as though Peter's dentist suggestion hadn't even been brought up.

I added on, "For several days at a time, each time. And none of the teachers acknowledge it. None of them ask us where he's at. None of them scold him the next time they see him. By now, Dumbledore himself has got to be involved. Remus should've been expelled or something by now. Something's going on." It took a lot for me not to mention what I saw between Dumbledore and Remus last month at two in the morning. I'm not one to break promises.

James shrugged, "Whatever it is, he doesn't want us to know about it or he would've told us."

"Well Sabrina and I clearly wanna know," Sirius said. "Remus calls us his friends and yet he's got some great deal to get himself out of having to sit through History of Magic with Binns or that blasted Potions class. He needs to let us in on his secret to getting out of classes."

That night, the four of us went up to the boys' dormitory at an early time, in hopes that the other Gryffindors would follow suit so that we could get out of the common room with most of the night to map the corridors below. Bilius and Derek sat up in the common room for some time, though, going over new Quidditch strategies by the fireplace. It was nearly one o'clock before they carried their parchments up to the sixth years' dorms and cleared the way for Sirius, James, Peter and I to sneak out through the portrait hole.

"This way," Sirius said, and he led us down some of the moving staircases to the lower levels of the castle, headed for the fourth floor, where we could begin mapping out the new territory. There were no signs of Filch or Mrs. Norris and for that we were all quite thankful. After all, the less obstacles we faced, the better.

We reached the fourth floor without any trouble at all, and quickly located an empty classroom to lay out our parchments and draw in the way we'd just come, turning the page to line up with the one we'd drawn for the third floor so that the staircases were where they ought to be. We'd just finished getting the parchment prepared and was about to strike out into the halls again when I heard an echoing voice in the hallway.

My eyes went wide, "Dumbledore!" I hissed.

We quickly darted back into the classroom, where James and Peter ducked into a supply closet at the far side. Sirius dropped his wand and had to double back. I kept the door open for him so he wouldn't risk making noise trying to open it, and we'd only just gotten through the door and pressed our backs to the wall before Dumbledore's footsteps were too close to chance moving again. So we stayed very still, our hearts pounding.

There were two voices, I realised, as they came closer. The not-Dumbledore voice was speaking, and I looked to Sirius with surprise, as I _knew_ that voice. "_It's Remus!"_ I whispered to him and Sirius' eyes widened.

"It's very lonesome during the days, when I'm _not_ \- you know." He paused, and I heard them come to a stop. "There's no one to talk to. I miss my friends." Remus sighed.

"I'm very sorry to hear of that," Dumbledore said sadly. "It's quite a challenge, being alone, one which I myself suffer with quite frequently." He paused. "I wish that I could help, that there was a way to keep you from having to be so very alone, but for the safety of the others…"

"I understand," Remus said.

"Professor Slughorn is working very hard with many prominent potion masters all over the world, trying to find an antidote." Dumbledore added. "One day, we hope to end all of the suffering that those with your condition must endure."

Remus sighed, "Wish we had it now."

"As do I, my boy," Dumbledore agreed. He sighed, too. "I do wish there was more I could do to help you."

Remus said, "Well. It would help if you could tell me what to tell my friends. They keep asking after me whenever I go - and, well, I think they're getting suspicious."

"As good friends tend to do," Dumbledore replied.

"What should I tell them?" Remus asked.

Dumbledore was quiet for a long moment and I felt rather strangely, as though Dumbledore somehow was aware that Sirius and I were there, just behind the wall, but I don't know exactly why I thought so. We just held our breath.

"Tell them only what they need to know," Dumbledore answered. "Only what you trust them with."

"Yes, sir," Remus answered.

"Now come, we must get you downstairs," Dumbledore said, and the sounds of their footsteps echoed on down the hallway, fading the further away they got, until finally they were gone and Sirius and I finally let out gasps for air. I was thankful to fill my lungs fully.

"You can come out now," I called to James and Peter, who came spilling from the cupboard, the map parchment in hand.

"That was close," Peter said, wringing his hands, "Maybe Remus was right. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

James rolled his eyes, "First sign of trouble and this one wants to go back to the common room. Don't be such a sissy, Peter." He turned to Sirius and I, "What in bloody hell was Dumbledore doing roaming round the corridors at this hour?" he asked.

Sirius and I looked at each other, and it was as if a mutual agreement was made to not share what we heard. We both shrugged.

James was still dusting off, for the cupboard had been quite stuffed with old fur jackets that had been collecting dust for eons it seemed. "Well - blimey!" he complained, frowning.

Sirius glanced at the hall. "You know, I think we really ought to go back up to the common room," he said.

James looked surprised, "What? Why? We were going to map."

I nodded, but thought of how sad Remus had sounded, saying he missed his friends. "But maybe we ought to wait until Remus is back. I feel bad leaving him out of it. It's his map, too. It's not right working on it without him. Besides, look at that shoddy staircase we drew. Remus is much better at the drawing parts than we are. That looks awful, that staircase does."

James squinted at Sirius and I almost suspiciously. I looked to Peter, then to James, trying to send him the message that we'd tell him more about what was going on once Peter was asleep back in the dormitory.

James eventually sighed. "Alright, fine, let's go back to the common room, then."

"How come _they're _not sissies for wanting to go back to the common room?" Demanded Peter as Sirius ducked his head out of the classroom to look both ways and listen for Filch or his cat.

"You wanted to go back cos you were too scared in the face of a little danger. We want to go back because we care about Remus." I replied as we followed Sirius along the corridor, back to the staircases.

Peter sighed as we climbed the stairs, "Sometimes I don't feel like you three like me as much as you like each other or Remus," he complained.

James and Sirius looked to me for help in bridging the awkward moment, as I'd always been the more empathetic of the group. Peter was technically right, but I'm fairly certain honesty was not the best policy at the moment. "We like you plenty," I said carefully, "Don't worry about it so much. You just overthink it, that's your problem. Just believe us we like you and leave it at that."

Peter nodded slowly.

Back in the common room, I waited for Sirius and James to come down. They were planning on laying in their beds until Peter had fallen asleep, before coming back down. About twenty minutes had passed, and I was getting drowsy huddled up by the fire, when I heard two pairs of near-silent footsteps coming down the steps. I gave a small smile to the two boys as they curled up and joined me.

"So what really went on?" James asked, voice in a hushed whisper, "What made you decide to turn back?"

"Remus was with Dumbledore," I whispered, "Dumbledore and him were talking. Wherever Remus is going, he's going alone and he says he misses us while he's gone, but Dumbledore said that it couldn't be helped for our _safety_."

James looked confused, "For our _safety_? What's that mean, ey?"

"I dunno," answered Sirius. "But whatever it is, it's got to do with why Remus has been disappearing. And Dumbledore's the reason why Remus hasn't been telling us. He asked Dumbledore what he ought to be saying to us to make us stop asking him where he's gone and Dumbledore told him to tell us what we need to know."

The confusion on James' face only deepened. "That's weird," he said. "Why would Dumbledore want Remus to keep it a secret where he's going every month?"

"I don't know," Sirius replied.

"And for our safety, too," I mused.

"Strange, the lot of it," James agreed. "None of it makes sense."

"None of it," I confirmed.

Sirius said, "Anyway, we felt like buggers going on and mapping without him, when he's _missing us_ and all."

"Don't blame you," James said.

"Well I dunno about you two but I'm bloody well going to keep asking him about where he goes," I added, "I don't care if he has Dumbledore telling him not to. If we keep asking him, eventually he's bound to crack and tell us, right? If he's really our friend he'll trust us not to tell anyone about it."

James glanced back toward the staircase to the boys' dormitories. "Maybe he's not told us because of Peter," he whispered even quieter than before.

I cocked my head in confusion. "Because of Peter?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah. You know, because Peter's always there. Maybe Remus only wants to tell _us_, you two and me. I mean… maybe he doesn't trust Peter."

"Maybe he doesn't trust us," Sirius countered.

"Maybe we ought to show him he can," James suggested.

"How?" I asked.

James shrugged.

There was an awkward moment in which none of us really knew what to say next. We shifted uncomfortably.

"Anyway," muttered James, "We better be going back to bed. There's Charms first thing."

"Right," Sirius agreed, "But we can have a nap in History of Magic after at least."

I laughed, "Of course. What else is there to do while Binns is going on about Goblin Wars?"

I said goodnight to the boys and went up to my dormitory and climbed into bed. I felt a pang of sorrow for whatever Remus must be going through at the moment.


	20. 2nd and 3rd November, 1971

**_2nd November, 1971_**

When Charms let out, Lily caught my arm by my robes and brought me and the rest of the group to a stop. "Where's Remus?" she asked.

I shrugged, "Dunno, do we?" I said, "Not any more than you do."

"Didn't he tell you?" Lily pressed, now looking to the boys as well, "Didn't you all ask him last time?"

I put a clueless expression on my face, trying to play it cool. "Well of course we asked him," I said defensively.

"Well, what did he _say_?" Lily asked pointedly.

"Said to stop being a nosey git," James said, appearing at my side, intervening before I could answer.

"You stay out of this, I'm having a conversation with Sabrina, not with you." she looked at me apologetically. "_Nevermind_," she said, "I don't care enough about Remus Lupin to sit here and listen to you prats." she stomped off down the corridor, leaving us behind.

I facepalmed, and said to James, "What'd you do that for?" He simply blushed a bit, feeling a tad guilty.

I didn't see Lily when I sat down for Transfiguration, which was rather odd. She was usually a few minutes early to every class, chatting up the Professor. The girl with the flaming hair eventually came in about ten minutes late, and McGonagall stopped talking, mid-sentence, pointing her wand at a diagram of the conch shell on the blackboard. She lowered her wand and held it in her palm, watching as Lily walked between the mostly vacant desks to her usual seat in the front and sank into place. Sirius, James, Peter and I all were staring at her with somewhat surprised expressions.

"Well, Miss Evans," said McGonagall, her Scottish accent particularly sharp today, "I am very pleased that you have finally chosen to join us in this classroom."

Lily lowered her head. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Tardies do call for detention, Miss Evans, and so I shall be spending some time with you on Saturday next, five o'clock, my office…" having doled out the punishment for the crime, McGonagall turned back to the blackboard.

Lily's head darted about the room, and then suddenly called out, "Well hold on now… why do I get a detention for being _tardy_ when Remus Lupin isn't even here at all? When's his detention?"

McGonagall turned slowly back to face the room. "Mister Lupin's punishments are none of your concern, Miss Evans." she replied.

"Well I'm just confused, I suppose you could say that Remus Lupin has been absent multiple times since the start of term - in more than one class, mind you! - and I've never once heard of him having served a detention. Me, I'm late by a few minutes just _once_ and I get sentenced a detention? How is that justice?" she eyed Professor McGonagall with scrutiny. "It isn't _fair_."

"Again, Miss Evans, Mister Lupin's punishments are of none of your concern, and I recommend, unless you wish to have a second detention, that you let it go."

Lily clearly wasn't satisfied, but she did let it go, likely because of the seriousness of Professor McGonagall's eyes as she glowered at Lily from the blackboard. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat as McGonagall got on with her lesson.

I whispered to Sirius, "I can't believe that Evans got her first detention than I did! The world really _is_ a strange place!" He snickered.

**_3rd November, 1971_**

Remus still had not returned by tonight, when we trooped up to the astronomy tower at midnight. Overhead hung the waning moon, filling the sky over Hogwarts castle and casting the blue-white glow that illuminated our telescopes and star charts. Professor Zosma walked between us, helping to adjust our scopes before beginning her lesson, skipping past Lily, whose scope was perfect already. I looked over to her, wondering if I ought to apologise for the way James had snapped at her before, when she'd inquired about Remus. It seemed Lily had been extra quiet and distant from us since then and I didn't like that. I do rather enjoy the times that Lily chats with me.

"Tonight, we will be determining your moon signs and learning more about the lunar patterns discovered by Copernicus…" Zosma began, her voice only loud enough so that the five of us could hear her. "The position of the moon can greatly tie into your _personhood_, into your _identity_… The moon is a very powerful, very strong celestial body… as Hermes Trismegistus said, 'as above, so below'..."

James peered into his telescope, likely looking at the craters and marks all over the surface of the moon. "Think it's really made of swiss cheese?" he whispered to Sirius and I.

"Looks more like Snivelly Snape's acne to me," Sirius whispered back.

I chuckled lightly, glancing at Lily to make sure she hadn't heard the comment. To me relief, it didn't seem like she did.

"...affects our genetic make-up, our personal selves can be identified by our moon signs, just as our more public selves are evident in the sun signs…" Zosma was going on, her voice fading in and out as she walked one end of the tower to the other behind the students.

"Y'know, a few years ago some American Muggles actually _went_ to the moon?" I whispered to the boys, adjusting my scope.

"My Dad says it was with the help of wizards," replied James. I rolled my eyes, amused.

"Split into two groups and, using the time of your birth, we will calculate your moon signs and chart them on your personal star charts. For homework, you will write a foot on the comparison of your moon sign and your sun sign, describing in detail why, or why not, you believe the signs fit your personality."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Rubbish. Homework."

"Peter," called Lily, "Come work with me." The blond toddled over and sat down with Lily.

I scooted closer to Sirius and James. I pulled my star chart onto my lap and started going through the list of signs for my birthday, and the two boys started doing the same. James found his first. "Looks like I'm a double Aries," he laughed, "That'll be easy to compare for the homework at least. Says I'm impatient."

I laughed, "That's pretty accurate. I'm Scorpio, which means I'm passionate and intense. What's yours, Sirius?"

"Sagittarius," Sirius said. "I'm alert and open. Impulsive, too."

James was staring down at Sirius' parchment. "You're looking at today's chart," he said, "You've gotta look at your birthday."

"I _am_ looking at my birthday." Sirius replied, his face reddening.

"Oi! Today's your birthday, then?" I exclaimed, eyes wide. "Why didn't you tell us?"

James chimed in, "I would've asked Bilius to knick you a cake from the kitchens or something! We would've skived off classes and done something _fun_, you prat!"

Sirius shrugged, "Never done much of anything for my birthday, really," he said, "It's not a big deal."

"_Not a big deal_?" I gasped. "Of course it's a big deal. It's the day you were born, innit? You can't just ignore that, it's _special_!"

"Not in the Black family," replied Sirius, "We never celebrate birthdays."

"Well _blimey_," said James, shaking his head, "We're celebrating it now."

"Now it's over," Sirius answered.

"Bugger on that," James replied, "We'll celebrate it a day late this year is all."

I shook my head, "Not telling us your birthday, and you dare call us your friends."

Sirius laughed. "Well I know yours was last month Sabrina, but when's yours, James, if it's so important?"

"27 March," answered James. "Wonder when Remus's is," he said, running his finger across the book. "Would be interesting to know all our moon signs, wouldn't it? Wonder if we could guess by the description?"

The three of us spent the rest of the class laughing and making up reasons why different signs fit Remus, trying to guess his birthday from the signs, while Peter and Lily worked dutifully on their own charts across the rooftop from us. When Zosma finally let us off from class, she led us back down through the castle to the Gryffindor common room and deposited us outside the portrait hole.

"Well tonight was interesting," James said. He glanced at Lily, "What'd your moon sign say?" he asked, trying to be friendly.

Lily replied shortly, "Pisces. Goodnight." With that, she trotted on up the steps into the girl's dormitories.

Peter offered, "Mine was Taurus." But the three of us were already headed up the steps to the boys' dormitory and Peter had to scramble to follow after them. "What were yours?" he asked as he caught up, eager to get us to talk with him again.

"Scorpio," I replied. "Found out that today was Sirius' birthday, though. Still can't believe you never told us," I added.

"I'm Sagittarius and I told you, we don't make a big fuss on it, I didn't think it mattered much," Sirius said as we were approaching the landing of the boys' dorms.

"My mum makes a big deal of my birthday every year," said Peter.

"See, even Peter knows birthdays are important!" James said to Sirius. I pushed open the door to their room and stepped inside.

There, in his bed and already asleep, was Remus.

I stopped and we all crowded around Remus' bed. He was fast asleep, in that exhausted sort of way that one sleeps when they've had a very, very long day, still in his clothes, though they looked dirty and there was a rip in the knee of his slacks. "He's back," I whispered in half-disbelief.

"Too bad he missed tonight," Peter said, "That was a very interesting class."

"Yeah," Sirius said.

James grinned, "At least he'll get to join in the fun tomorrow, when we celebrate your birthday."

I continued to stare at Remus' sleeping form as the boys began to get ready for bed. I knew I should leave, as they were undressing, but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was curled up, his nose nearly touching his knees. Remus twitched as a cloud shifted outside and a beam of moonlight crept through the room, across his sleeping face. His hand moved up and swept over his cheek and the combination of the way he was curled and the way he pawed at his face like that, I was reminded of a dog… and then something started to blossom in my mind. Something I couldn't quite put a finger on, some sort of understanding or idea beginning to form, something that I wasn't even sure could happen in the magical world, something I wasn't sure I dare voice aloud. I looked round at the other three finally, seeing they were waiting for me to leave so they could change out of their robes and into pyjamas. I took one last look at Remus and left the boys' dorm, feeling a bit dazed as the idea coursed through me, facts falling into place like puzzle pieces.

But I couldn't be right… could I?

Once I got back to my own dorm, Lily gave me a polite smile. "So what's your moon sign, then?" she asked as she slipped on her pyjamas.

"Scorpio." I replied while getting ready myself.

Lily climbed into bed and snuggled down into her pillows and blankets. "Do you think the sun and moon really can tell us a lot about ourselves and other people like Zosma says?" I asked her.

"I'm sure as much as anything else can," she replied.

"I think the moon could maybe tell us a _lot_ about a person," I mumbled back.


	21. 4th November, 1971

"So how far along did you get with the map the other night?" Remus asked as the five of us walked down the corridors, preparing to go down to breakfast before classes. He was jamming quills and parchment into his already stuffed school bag.

"Added a staircase," answered James, "Then we were interrupted by Dumbledore and decided on coming back to the common room."

Remus paused, "By Dumbledore?" he asked, "What on earth was Dumbledore doing up at that hour?" He gave a weak chuckle. I watched him closely.

"Beats me," James answered, "We were in a cupboard, hiding. Couldn't see or hear a thing from in there."

I saw Remus exhale rather quickly. Sirius and I looked at each other. I highly doubted he had the theory that I did, but he certainly shared the same amount of suspicions as me.

"Well," Sirius said, keeping his eyes very carefully averted from Remus', "Sabrina and I weren't in the cupboard,"

"That's right," James said, turning to us, "Forgot you didn't make it in there. Did either of you overhear anything?"

I met Remus' eyes for a tense moment. "Not a thing," I shrugged. "Maybe Dumbledore was just out for a nice walk. In the moonlight."

Remus looked like he was going to be sick.

"We're going to be late if we don't walk faster," Peter advised. He was standing at the entrance to the Grand Staircase landing.

"We're coming, we're _coming_," James exclaimed, jumping up and rushing, dragging us along with him.

Remus moved slowly. "You alright?" Peter asked, "You look pale."

"Just cheeky," Remus replied.

Remus seemed to be very jumpy at breakfast. He nearly leaped out of his seat when a second year Slytherin girl tapped him on the shoulder and jabbed an envelope in his face. "From Professor Slughorn," she said shortly before leaving without any further explanation.

"What's that?" Sirius asked around a mouthful of french toast dripping with jam and butter.

"Dunno," Remus replied, ripping it open. "Must be something about the _Slug Club_," he said dismally.

He took a moment, reading the note, before sighing and tucking the envelope and card into his school bag. "Apparently there's going to be a Christmas party and I can bring someone along."

The four of us exchanged glances and James quickly put down his fork. "Who're you gonna bring?"

"Trust me, none of you _want_ to go," Remus said.

"I've never been to a Christmas party," Sirius commented. "Mother thinks Christmas is a Muggle holiday."

"Well, really, it is," James pointed out. "But it's a fun one." He turned back to Remus. "I heard Gwen Jones has contact with some league Quidditch teams," he said. "You could really be helping my future career as a Quidditch champion if you bring me along and I could meet her. You said she goes to these things, didn't you?"

Peter started poking at his pudding. "I'd like to go, but you're going to bring one of them," he said, nodding at James, Sirius and I. I remained quiet, still observing Remus.

Remus held up his palms, "Oi, I don't know who I'm going to bring. I've got a whole month to choose. I may not even go at all…" he looked like he was concentrating for a moment, like he was trying to work something out, before continuing. "They're really dull."

"You'd have to be _barking_ to miss a party, though, right?" I said, eyeing Remus. I gave a small smirk.

Remus looked down and said, to his breakfast more than me, "Right. Barking." he shoved a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth quickly.

All through classes, I noticed Remus stealing peeks over at me. He definitely was aware that I knew something.

In flying lessons, Madam Hooch treated us to a surprise for one of our last basic lessons, pairing us off into groups of two to toss a ball back and forth to practise dexterity and quick steering. I nudged Remus, "Hey. Pair up, shall we?"

Remus hesitantly nodded. "Alright."

"So," I said, as Remus followed me across the pitch to the pile of brooms. "How've you been? Feels like we haven't really had much time to talk, me and you, since you came back."

"Been okay," Remus answered. "Yourself?"

"Alright," I replied, nodding. I lifted a broom up and inspected it carefully as Remus sifted through a small stack of them for one that wasn't absolute rubbish. "Can't believe it's almost Christmas already," I mused, flinging the broom over one shoulder. "You staying here or going home for the holidays?"

"Probably staying here," he answered.

"Been home enough already this term, eh?" I questioned.

Remus shrugged. "How about you? Going home?"

"Probably," I shrugged. "Would be nice to finally see my parents. Mum's been missing me like mad, and she says that my dad's been counting the days till I come home."

We walked back off down the pitch, carrying our brooms and the ball Madam Hooch had given us to play with. "You know," I said, "Whatever's going on back home that you keep having to leave for… you can tell me about it if you need to talk to somebody. I'm really good at keeping secrets." I put my hand on Remus' shoulder and looked into his eyes. He flinched for a split second, before relaxing. "You can trust me."

"I know," Remus answered.

"I'm serious," I said, "I'm more serious than Black right now." I grinned reassuringly and held out Madam Hooch's ball. "Friends are for confiding."

"I'll keep that in mind," Remus answered, taking the ball.

"Alright," I said.

An hour later and all our arms and brooms were tired and we marched off back up to the castle. He would tell me when he was ready. It would be cruel of me to force a confession out of him.

**Author's Note: Heyyyy good news guys! As of right now, I just finished writing year one! WOOOOO! It's roughly going to be about 30 more chapters after this! I thought I'd update twice in one day to celebrate! So this means, in about a month or so Year One will be completely published! I have the first couple of years roughly planned out, but now it's time for me to start writing Year Two :)**


	22. 15th November and 18th December, 1971

**_15th November, 1971_**

November meant cold weather rolling in. The wind whistled round the turrets of the castle, chilling us to the bone when we were up in the astronomy tower with Zosma. I figured out how to cast a spell to create a small pile of blue flames as we peered through the telescopes, tracking various constellations and marking them on our charts. By now, the castle had been coated with snow that did not melt as easily as that first dusting had, and so we spent free periods out on the grounds playing in it.

**_18th December, 1971_**

Soon the time came to take the Hogwarts Express once more for the Christmas holidays. Remus and Peter were still sleeping, as they were the ones staying at Hogwarts, but the students going home had to be down in the Entrance Hall first thing this morning. We were packed into carriages drawn by invisible horses before breakfast had even started.

"I'm _starving_," complained James as the three of us waited in line to board the carriages.

Sirius poked his stomach with his wand, "Could do with a couple hours starving, couldn't you?" He joked with a smirk. James laughed just as heartily as we did.

I cleared my throat, "Never fear, you won't have to!" I opened my school bag to reveal that I'd done a bit of sneaking around the kitchens yesterday and winked, closing up the bag again before Professor McGonagall could catch sight of it.

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed.

A half an hour later, we all piled onto the train and found ourselves a compartment. I distributed the treats around and we started snacking as others loaded onto the scarlet red train. I saw a familiar head of red hair, and I called out to Bilius, waving one of the pumpkin pasties from my bag. "Hey! Come in and have some snacks!"

"Thanks!" Bilius said, taking the pumpkin pasty. He waved over to the people he was with, Derek and Alice Bell, Frank Longbottom, and Lily, and they all piled in. Lily gave an expression of disapproval at the boys before sitting next to me.

"Think anybody's staying at Hogwarts for holiday?" Frank asked, "Seems every single compartment on the train is packed!"

"Well, Remus and Peter are," Sirius said as he reached for another cake that I was holding up.

"And Severus," offered Lily.

James looked over at her. "Is he?" he asked.

"Is that the Slytherin boy you're mates with?" asked Bilius around a mouthful of cake. "How'd you meet him, anyway? It isn't often you see a Slytherin befriend a Muggleborn."

Lily shrugged, "Sev's not a typical Slytherin."

"Besides, he's half-blood himself, isn't he?" Sirius spoke up. Lily and I looked at Sirius, and I was curious what he'd say on the matter. "It'd be mighty hypocritical of him to go on judging someone by their blood status, being what he is."

Already on the defense, Lily demanded, "_Being what he is_? What's that supposed to mean? Exactly what do you think he is besides a brilliant wizard?" she looked at Sirius with a fire in her eyes.

Alice, Frank and Derek exchanged amused expressions.

Sirius looked surprised by the venom of her response, "Well it's just that whole blood status debate all over again, isn't it?" he asked with a shrug.

I smirked at the way Sirius seemed almost timid in reply to Lily's snap. It was rather impressive how quickly Lily had managed to put him in his place. I knew that Sirius didn't share the prejudices that the rest of his family had, otherwise I'd likely react the same way as her. She was a real live wire, I admired it.

"And what's the big deal with blood status?" Lily asked hotly. "Even Muggles are people, so why's it gotta be so black and white and separate? It doesn't _matter_ or make any sense at all! I don't really care about who any of your families are; if I like you, or hate you," she added with a sharp glance at James, "it's based on _you_. As a person, on how you treat others."

Sirius shrugged. "Not all wizarding families agree with you."

"And not all of them _disagree_ with you, either," added Bilius. "Look at my family. We're one of the oldest pureblood families in all the wizarding world and yet we don't give a damn about that blood status rubbish. The Weasley family's always been very open minded about that stuff. As long as you aren't evil, you're welcome with a Weasley."

Lily waved her hands at Bilius, "See! Now _there_ is logic!"

"None of them are arguing with you," I pointed out calmly to Lily. "I wouldn't be friends with any of this lot if they treated us Muggleborns like that. Severus is the one who cares about all that tosh, remember?"

"Him and that lot he's been hanging round with in Slytherin," Sirius added. "I know. They're my family. Most of them are my cousins. They're into dark magic and support the Dark Lord. I've heard loads of nasty things about Lucius Malfoy. He's my cousin, you know."

Lily shook her head, "Well obviously Severus doesn't care."

"He will if he keeps hanging round those people," Sirius replied. "It's too easy to fall blindly into it. I know. My family kept me blind to it for years."

"So if your family's so awful, why aren't you like that?" Lily asked.

"I'm a rebel, aren't I?" Sirius asked, puffing up his chest proudly. "I'm only the second in the whole extended family and everything to be sorted outside of Slytherin. First in the Blacks. And to Gryffindor, no less! The ultimate disappointment." He laughed sarcastically and shook his head with a sigh, "Expect Mother will be waiting at the station with balloons to celebrate my return. I'm sure the whole family's quite proud."

Lily eased up a bit, and I leaned back in my seat, putting my feet up on Sirius' legs. Silence filled the compartment.

"So…" Derek Bell said after a few moments of awkwardness, "...it's Christmas."

"It's here again," agreed Bilius, nodding.

"Comes a bit faster each year," Derek said.

"Indeed," Bilius agreed. He glanced down at my empty bag, all the sweets I'd nicked from the kitchen gone. "Blimey, we ate all the cakes already! Sorry 'bout that, Sabrina."

I waved my hand, "What I brought 'em for, anyway."

At King's Cross station several hours later, our group shattered into parts as we met up with our families. The last to walk away, Lily, James and I watched Sirius walk dejectedly across the platform to a dismal-looking wizard down the way. "Well," I said, "That's everyone. I hope you two have a Happy Christmas."

"Thanks," Lily answered. She looked at James as well as me. "You too."

James nodded. "Yeah, same to you both. There's my folks over there," he said, pointing. "That's my mum with all the kleenex over there." I looked and saw a woman wiping her eyes with a ball of kleenex as she waved frantically to her son. James smiled. "Anyways. You ladies have a good break. See you on the way back."

"Cya, Potter!" I grinned. "Let's write to each other over the break."

"Yeah. See you," Lily replied with a smile.

She winked and turned away. I felt a funny twinge roll over my skin, like warmth from an unexpected source. I watched as Lily rushed off to join her parents, who wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her tightly to her chest.

I heard my name being called behind me, and I squealed, running into the arms of my mum and dad. I was home once more.


	23. 25th December, 1971

_25th December, 1971_

I lay awake in my bed, the covers tucked up around my chin, staring at the magical photo on my nightstand. It was of James and his parents, standing on a short staircase in matching holiday jumpers, waving and smiling at me. I smirked as James looked like he wanted to rip his itchy jumper off. The photo had come, along with a letter from James wishing me a Happy Christmas, by owl the day before, much to my parents' delight.

Now it was Christmas, and I normally would be up and waking my parents. But I just wasn't feeling it this year for some reason. I guess I had been reminded of how ordinary the Muggle world was.

"Sabrina," came my mum's voice through the door, "Are you awake?"

"Yep, mum!" I called back.

"Are you coming downstairs? Your father and I are headed down… there's presents!" she added.

"Coming, mum," I answered, getting up, pulling my bathrobe around myself and tying it at the waist before kicking my feet into my slippers.

At Christmas dinner, I told them all about the term so far at Hogwarts, about my friends and things I was learning in my classes, and describing the teachers. My parents could not get enough of how brilliant it was having a witch for a daughter. They asked me questions constantly, delighting in the answers as their imaginations caught hold of the way things worked in the wizarding world. I kept them laughing as we ate the feast that my mum prepared, telling them about the hijinks that had gone on around the halls - being careful, of course, to leave out the fact that I was usually providing some sort of help to James and Sirius when they were getting up to mischief.

That night, after Christmas day, I carried my gifts upstairs to my bedroom and began to get ready for bed. I put my brand new copy of _Hogwarts, a History, First Edition_ into my trunk, along with my new potions kit. I turned back to my bed, where several new sets of robes were folded neatly, along with a lovely new book bag, and the main gift, a broomstick of my very own! I ran my thumb over the fancy gold plate on the handle. I knew very little about brooms, mainly through osmosis of Sirius and James blabbering on about this and that Quidditch team. So I had no idea if this was a good one or not. This Shooting Star looked much nicer than the ones at Hogwarts, but I'd have to ask one of the boys about how impressive the model was. I didn't have the heart to tell my parents I wasn't allowed my own broomstick at school yet, as I'm only a first year, and so I carefully tucked the Shooting Star into the closet behind some of my muggle clothes, to keep it safe until next term.

I sat down on my bed and stared down at my lap, wishing that I was already back at Hogwarts again. As much as I love my parents, I missed my friends even more, and the Muggle world seemed so… grey, without magic to spice it up.

As though in reply, there was suddenly a tapping at the window and I looked up to see a tired-looking barn owl, pecking at the glass. Bits of snow were stuck to his feathers, and a cold gust of wind spun into the room as I let the bird in carefully.

I hastily pulled the envelope from the owl's leg and dove into my trunk to withdraw a knut to put in his little coin purse. The owl hooted and flew back out into the snowy night. I watched it disappear among the flakes of snow as I closed the window before turning to the letter I'd taken from it. I opened it up and found Remus' neat script scrawled across the page.

_Dear Sabrina,_

_First of all, happy Christmas! I hope you're enjoying your holiday so far._

_I'm writing to you because I've got some suspicions about Tutman. I saw him sneaking off into the dungeons during breakfast one morning. He initially said he was going down to discuss something with Slughorn, But something just didn't seem right about it. Tutman never paused at all when he saw Slughorn walking down the Great Hall, so I decided to follow him to investigate. For some reason, Tutman ducked into a Prefect toilet, and then Malfoy and Snape just happened to be in the corridor at that exact time as well… Why would he be sneaking off to a Slytherin prefect's toilet? _

_Hope all is well. I miss you guys a lot right now, the castle's so empty and lonely._

_Remus J. Lupin_

I chuckled at the formality of writing his full name, before subconsciously hugging the note to my chest. I wish I hadn't sent the owl away without reading the letter first so I could've sent a note back to Remus, but now it was too late. I needed an owl, and I had left Archie at school so he wasn't cooped up in his cage all holiday.

I fell asleep that night, dreaming of going back to Hogwarts, and questions about what Remus saw swirling in my head.

**Author's Note: With what the world is going through right now concerning the Coronavirus, I hope that everyone is staying safe and healthy! Please make sure to practise at least BASIC hygiene, and avoid public and crowded places whenever possible.**

**My university has closed for the rest of term, so online classes, yay! Luckily I'm only in my first year, so I still have plenty of time 'til I graduate. But I'm essentially being locked up in my house by my parents (my friends are literally calling me Rapunzel because I can't really leave the house even though I'm perfectly healthy lmao). Soooo this means I'm going to be writing a lot more than usual and get these books done faster, yay!**


	24. 2nd January, 1972

I was nearly as excited to get back to Hogwarts as I'd been to go in the first place. The moment Mum had let go of me, I made a mad dash across Platform 9 ¾ to find my friends. I first found Sirius in a compartment about midway through the train, laying across the seat and staring up at the ceiling. "There you are, mate, how's it going?" I exclaimed and I pushed my way into the compartment and slid the door shut behind me. "My Christmas was so dull I couldn't wait to-" I stopped short when I saw the look on Sirius' face. "What's the matter?" I asked.

Sirius sighed and sat up, not looking directly at me. "It's my folks," he said, "They don't get me."

"Don't get you?" I asked. "Were your mum mad about Gryffindor then? Did she shout at you?"

"Worse," Sirius answered, "She didn't speak to me, all of Christmas. Nor did Father. Regulus, my younger brother, he did a bit, but we didn't get on real well. It was dreadful being in that big dark house, basically alone up in my room." he sighed. "The summer's going to be even worse." He shook his head and ran and hand along the back of his neck absently.

I frowned and put my hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Sirius," I said. "I thought you and Regulus got on okay?"

"We used to," Sirius answered, "Which is part of why it was so awful. Mother's got him good and trained in believing everything she always has. He said everything I worried Mother might about my being a Gryffindor." He looked out the window for a long moment, then shrugged, "I guess it just bothered me more than I thought it might," he admitted.

I was about to answer when the door burst open again and we both looked up to see James jumping on top of us and hugging us. "_There_ you two are," he exclaimed as though he'd been looking for us for eons.

He sat down on the other side of Sirius. "Good Christmas, you two?" he asked.

"Bloody _brilliant_," Sirius murmured.

"Was alright," I said.

"Oh. Well, mine was great," James said, and went on about his fantastic holiday, and all the cool things he got for Christmas. Normally I'd be glued to my seat with excitement, but I was currently very concerned about Sirius.

About an hour later, once James had finished, I spoke up. "Do you know anything about Shooting Star broomsticks?" I asked.

"Sure," James grinned, as the topic had now changed to one he was equally interested in. "I mean, they're pretty new. Great racing brooms. They have some killer speed… why?"

"I got one for Christmas," I explained, grinning.

"No way," James said, clearly impressed, "_You_ got a _broom_ for the Holidays?"

"Yeah, my mum and dad are new to the wizarding world so they wanted to get me something fantastic. Apparently they asked a bunch of kids our age round Diagon Alley what the best present they could think of would be for Christmas and all those kids told 'em a broomstick was best. So… that's what I got!"

"Well, wish my folks would do that," laughed James. I chuckled.

"And a _Shooting Star_, too." gasped Sirius enviously.

The entire ride to Hogwarts took ages, as per usual. There was a rush of students on the platform at Hogsmeade Station and the three of us had to work to stay together. We got into a carriage going up to the castle and watched as outside a light rain that had been falling turned into sleet and began to coat everything with a fine layer of ice.

"Carefully now, don't go slipping on the ice," called McGonagall's voice over the tinkling of the sleet. I stuck close to Sirius and James as we climbed the stairs into the Entrance Hall and on to the Great Hall for dinner. We were all frozen half to death but the Great Hall was warm and each place at the table was equipped with a steaming stein of hot chocolate.

I looked around once we sat down, my eyes skimming over to the Slytherin table, where I saw Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape sitting together, and then up and down the Gryffindor table with confusion. Only Peter had joined us. "Remus isn't here," I said.

Sirius looked about once really quickly to confirm. "You're right. It's getting ridiculous at this point."

I looked to Peter, who was in an animated conversation with a third year boy. I exhaled in relief, then whispered to Sirius and James. "We need to talk after dinner. Alone." I looked over at Peter to make sure he wasn't listening in, then said, even more quietly, "I think I know what's going on with Remus."

It must've taken ages for Peter to fall asleep, as I was waiting for the two boys in the common room for what felt like hours. I was eventually shaken awake by James at around one in the morning, while Sirius stoked the fire.

I took a deep breath. "I've got it figured out what's going on with Remus, like why he's going missing every month and why he's so dodgy about it." James and Sirius looked at each other with interest and confusion. "At first I didn't know if it was possible in the wizarding world, but then I did a lot of research-"

"_Nerd_." James fake coughed, before I playfully punched him.

"I did a lot of research to figure out if it was possible, and what it looked like, and… I've got it figured out, guys, I just know it for sure."

They had leaned in close as my voice lowered toward the end of the sentence. They were waiting for me to continue, but it was if the words became lodged in my throat. I felt incredibly guilty, like I was betraying my friend. "Are you going to tell us or are you just bragging on about your superior brains?" Sirius asked once the moments had stretched on for what seemed an infinity.

I took one more deep breath. "Well. It's just that apparently it's a _big_… a _huge_… a _serious_… accusation to make, and…" I rubbed my face with my palms. "Alright. They've obviously got it all under control somehow. I don't know how, exactly. Dumbledore's in on it, too, so-"

"In on _WHAT?_" demanded James, looking like he was about to shake me silly.

"Shhhh!" Sirius hissed. James had been a bit louder than he'd meant to and the three of us sat in front of the fire, motionless, peering up at the dormitory doors, half expecting all the other Gryffindors to crash down into the common room around us. But everything remained silent. I inched even closer, lowering my voice even further, until the word I said next came out as but a breath. "He's a _werewolf._"

James immediately pulled back, nearly falling over. Sirius looked at me with wild, disturbed eyes, his nostrils flared. Neither of them seemed to quite know how to react.

"Y-you have to understand…" James began, his voice shaking… he was obviously suppressing being scared as he spoke, "You didn't grow up with the tales of th-them feeding on children. Sirius I dunno 'bout you, but I know most wizard kids fear t-that more than a-anything else in the world."

Sirius was speechless, and nodded several times.

"Obviously he's a _good_-" I cut myself off, unable to finish saying the word. I felt awful about this whole thing.

"Is there… is there such a thing as… a _good_… one?" James asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I haven't got a clue if there usually are or not."

"But Remus seemed alright…" I said, "And, like I said, Dumbledore's in on it. Why would Dumbledore help him hide it if he wasn't a good one?"

Sirius shook his head, not sure of an answer. "Good or not, why would Dumbledore bring… one… _here _to Hogwarts?"

"Because…" I struggled for an answer for a moment, "Because… well, for the same reason he teaches Muggleborns like me, I suppose."

"There's a _big_ difference between a Muggleborn and a werewolf, Sabrina." hissed James quickly, under his breath.

"I know that, but if they're good, and… and… well, like Lily said on the train that day, they're just people like me… who can't help being what they are, right?" I floundered for a clear line of reasoning.

James was shaking his head. "And what about Remus' father? He's the one that passed the Werewolf Restriction Act, remember? That's exactly why he wouldn't have been allowed to come to school," James said.

"Well that was part of what was hanging me up," I admitted, "But I think it's something like there was a werewolf who was angry at Mr. Lupin for having passed that law, and, as revenge, bit his son and made him a werewolf, too."

"You've gotta be wrong, Sabrina," Sirius said, "There's gotta be some other explanation for it all. No way can this be true - how'd you even-?"

I leaned forward. "Listen to me, guys. I'm _right,_ I _know_ it. He goes missing at the full moon. Disappears late evening the day before and stays gone until early morning a day after. Every month. Look." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment - notes I'd scribbled along the edge of a page torn from my astronomy book - the moon chart for the year. I flattened it on the floor. "See here? He went missing before our first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the term, remember? That first weekend here? Full moon." I jabbed my finger at the page. "And then he disappeared about a month later, that first week of October. That's the weekend Alex Turin, that Ravenclaw, got clobbered at Quidditch tryouts and we saw him up at the hospital wing trying to find Remus, remember? Full moon. And the day after Halloween? Full moon. First of December! Full moon! Now - _right now_, guys, look out the window."

The two boys' eyes travelled to the windows, and I followed their line of sight. Sure enough, through it, I could see the full moon glowing blue-white and pale over the Forbidden Forest.

"Mark my words," I murmured as they continued to stare out the window, "Remus will be back tomorrow at breakfast. What's more is he'll disappear again come 'round the 28th." I pressed a finger at the dates on the moon cycle chart from Zosma's class.

The evidence was stacked, and the two of them couldn't come up with a single bit of substantial proof against it. "Blimey," Sirius whispered.

"I know," I said.

"But a _werewolf_," whispered James. "_Blimey_."

"How should we tell him we know?" I said at the same time James said, "How do we keep him from finding out we know?"

James' eyes widened. "You want to _tell_ him?" he asked, perplexed. "Are you mad? Tell a werewolf we know he's a werewolf when the very last thing said werewolf wants anyone to know is that he's a werewolf?"

"Well he's still our friend," I said with a shrug, "Nothing's changed in that way, has it? Not really…" I frowned. "And I think Remus could use knowing we're there for him. It's got to be awfully lonely keeping a secret like that. We gotta show him he can trust us, that we're not gonna tell his secret to anybody else, so he can talk to us about it. I think it'll help him out."

James nodded slowly, "Yeah," he said, "Yeah, that makes sense."

"So how do we tell him?" Sirius asked.

I thought hard for a moment, then shook my head, "I dunno."

"Me neither." James said.

"Maybe we need to just wait for the right moment to come up and then we will, when the time's right and all," Sirius suggested.

"Alright then," I agreed, nodding. "That's what we'll do."

**A/N: Hiiii guys! Since I'm going to obviously have LOADS of free time lately, I'm thinking of having a Q&A segment of sorts at the end of each chapter. Sooo, if you've got a question to ask me about anything, or even if you want to ask a character in my story anything, feel free to comment! I'll answer EVERYTHING (except maybe personal info like my address and such lol)**

**Peace out, **

**Jedigirl18**


	25. 3rd January, 1972

"What?"

"Nothing," Sirius replied, turning back to his porridge quickly.

It was the last free day we had for the holidays before classes were set to begin in the morning. We were all in the Great Hall early in the morning, everyone back from their trips home for Christmas. Remus was sitting next to me, across from James and Sirius at the Gryffindor table, eating hungrily, when he'd looked up to see Sirius staring at him with a funny look on his face.

"No, come off it, Sirius, what is it?" Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head and turned back to the porridge yet again.

"Probably just tried from the train ride." I said to cover for him, yawning to back up my point.

James nodded. "It's a long trip from London. I know I for one didn't sleep all too well, kept feeling like I was still on the train, could almost feel the clickety-clack of the steel beneath my bed as I laid awake, even."

Sirius nodded. "That's right," he said, yawning, too, having caught on.

"More like you were up talking half the night," muttered Peter, quite sourly.

Remus nodded and put down his spoon, grabbing his pumpkin juice cup and looking away, his eyes travelling over the others in the Great Hall. He frowned once his eyes landed on the staff table, before turning to me. "Sabrina," he said, "Did you get the letter I sent you over the holiday?"

I looked at him with excitement. "Yeah," I answered, looking over my shoulder at the staff table, too. "So did you ever figure out what Tutman was up to?"

Remus solemnly shook his head.

"Up to?" Peter, Sirius and James asked at the same time.

Realising they didn't know the story yet, Remus quietly filled the three of them in on how he'd spotted Tutman sneaking down to the dungeons and how Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape had snuck up on him trying to figure out what Tutman was doing.

"This isn't good," mumbled James, "Not good at all…"

"Maybe he just fancied a wee in private?" Peter suggested.

"I'm telling you, there was something odd going on, something that they didn't want me witnessing and now look at Tutman. He's ill or something. Seems twitchy and jumpy." Remus waved a hand toward the staff table.

Sirius was holding his spoon and as he spoke, he waved it about, sending little spatters of porridge every which way, "My mum and dad said - way back in August, when they were still talking to me, that is - they said that the Dark Lord's got somebody here at the school, so… so if Tutman's sneaking around the Slytherin dungeons…" He made a face.

My eyes went wide, "Tutman? Working for the Dark Lord?"

"Must be," Sirius said dramatically.

My heart began to accelerate. Sure I'd thought of something like that being the case as soon as Remus told me, but only in a half-hearted sort of way. Never in the awful, serious way that it was coming out of Sirius Black's mouth. I swallowed back my nerves. I _liked_ Tutman, and I hated to think that one of my favourite professors could be a bad guy. But Sirius had the evidence of what his folks knew, and from what I could tell, the Blacks were quite well connected with the Dark Lord and his cause and should, therefore, be a reliable source on what was going on with that lot.

"I heard Tutman telling Dumbledore he was going to secure the Floo Network against the Dark Lord, though," James argued, frowning. "What of that?"

"Must be tricking him out of looking further into it," Remus murmured.

"True," I said, remembering that James had overheard that conversation when he and Peter got into that tiff over a snitch. "Tells him he's on top of the situation to gain Dumbledore's trust, then actually _uses_ the situation himself to gain control…"

"Brilliant," Sirius commented admiringly.

"But what kind of floo would be in a prefect's bathroom?" Peter asked.

Sirius' face fell and James scrunched his up in thought. "Dunno," he said after a moment.

Finished with breakfast, we got up and headed out of the Great Hall. In the doorway, Peter paused to tie his trainers and we hovered by him. James glanced over at the door leading down to the dungeons, where a handful of Slytherins were standing and chatting. "Wish we could get down there to look at that toilet and figure out what Tutman was up to," he said, frowning at the stairwell.

"You need a password for a prefect's toilet," I said.

"Besides," said Peter, standing up, "You'd be seen in a second if you even went near that stairwell."

"I'm less worried about that than I am about the password bit," James said. "Did you hear Tutman, Malfoy, or Snape say a password, Remus?"

"No," Remus replied, leading the way to the stairs heading up to the Gryffindor common room. The four of us reluctantly followed along.

Peter was looking thoroughly annoyed. Finally, he spat, "What would you do even if he had? Be invisible?" James looked like he was going to say something, but Peter barreled on, "You never listen to me, always brushing off things I say. It's always about you four and how clever you lot are and I'm just stupid Peter, a tag-along."

Angry with Peter, James replied, "But I _can_ be invisible, and if you weren't such a great prat about it, I'd be able to tell you _how_."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "That's _really_ advanced magic, James," I said. "Well beyond our year. It'll take a lot more than looking up the spell in a book, if that's what you're thinking of doing."

"It's not at all," James replied haughtily.

"You can't be invisible!" Peter snapped loudly.

"I _can_!" said James back.

"You're impossible, and… and… and _full of yourself!_" Peter shouted. Several people, including the Slytherins by their stairwell, looked up at us where they'd paused to fight on the steps going up to the second floor. Peter turned and ran off quick as possible, his fists balled.

We rushed to get out of the focus of everyone in the Great Hall, who were all still staring after Peter's outburst. Once we'd gotten up to the second floor, we dashed along the corridor a bit before coming to a halt as we came to the moving staircases. We paused to catch our breath, and Remus looked up at James. "Alright, show off," he said, eyebrow raised, "How _do_ you suppose you're going to make yourself invisible, then?"

James looked round to be sure we were alone, and, seeing that it was completely empty, he lowered his voice and said, "With my invisibility cloak is how."

Sirius guffawed loudly.

"Invisibility cloak?" Remus looked thoroughly amazed. "You're joking."

"He hasn't got an invisibility cloak, Re," I said, rolling my eyes, "He's just banging on like he'd been with Peter. Aren't you, James? Tell the truth."

"I _am_ telling the truth," James replied. "I told my Dad about the map over the holidays, and he gave it to me to help us out. Which reminds me, he told me about…" James paused, eyes falling on glowing yellow eyes at the far end of the hall, where Mrs. Norris was peeking around the ankles of a suit of armour, staring at us in keen interest. "Filch can't be too far behind with _her_ around," he muttered, pointing. "C'mon. Let's go up to our dorm. I'll _show_ you I'm telling the truth."

We rushed up the staircases, taking the long way about to avoid Peeves the Poltergeist, who was cackling evilly from the fifth floor landing in a way that made us know we wouldn't want to pass by him, lest we end up with something chucked at our heads.

I was quite surprised when we reached the Gryffindor dormitories, that Peter wasn't there. "Where do you think he's gone, then?" I asked as James knelt down at his trunk and started rooting around inside it.

"Dunno," said Remus distractedly, watching James with wide, excited eyes, eager to see the cloak.

James said, "Who _cares?_ He needs to work on adjusting his attitude! At least we _let_ him follow us around, rather than chasing him off, the little toad."

"He's just a bit socially awkward is all," I said.

"It doesn't help that he's worrying so much about trying to be like us, that he forgets how to be himself sometimes," said Remus wisely.

"Bloody jealous is what he is," replied Sirius. I exchanged a sad look with Remus.

"And annoying," added James, "Him and that prattling on he does - talking too much when he ought not to be - it's going to be the death of me."

Sirius laughed, "Doubt you could die from Peter talking."

James shrugged, "I'm sure I'll find a way to go about it." He was holding a little box in his hands and I was staring at it with awe Remus too, looked about ready to combust with excitement by this point.

"Well _go on, then_," he begged, jumping foot to foot with the excess energy. "Show us the invisibility cloak!"

James laughed and stood up, putting the box down on the bed. Sirius, Remus and I clustered closer, our eyes wide, looking over James' shoulders. It was just an ordinary stationary box, but there was nothing ordinary inside it by any means. He slowly lifted the lid off and the we leaned even closer so that we could see as the liquid-silver material came into view, resting innocuously in the bottom half of the box.

"It doesn't _look_ invisible," I whispered in an awed voice.

"Of course it doesn't," said Sirius, "They never do until you put them on or else how would you ever find one?"

James lifted the cloak up from the box and shook it out, and we backed up to form a circle around the cloak as it shimmered and seemed to almost reflect the room around us. Carefully, James drew the cloak around his shoulders and disappeared before our very eyes. Sirius let out a hoot of excitement as I gasped, and Remus' eye popped large in his face. "You really _can_ go invisible!" he cried.

"Told you," came James' voice from behind us. We turned around, following the sound of James' voice, and Sirius was laughing with a wide, amused smile on his face. "Merlin's beard!"

James tugged the cloak back off of just his head so that it seemed to be floating apart from a body. I joined Sirius' laughter, and my giggles grew as James wiggled his head about in a funny manner and sing-songed, "Look't me, I'm the opposite of Nearly Headless Nick - you can call me Nearly Bodiless James!"

Remus clapped his hands. "Hilarious!" he cried, "Bloody hilarious!"

"Imagine the things we could get done with this cloak!" I said with a smirk.

Sirius rubbed his hands together, "Imagine the _pranks!_"

"I'd meant to prank you before I showed you," James admitted. "It was going to be brilliant. But then Peter and his big mouth-"

"Can I have a go?" begged Remus.

"Sure," James replied, and he tugged the cloak off and handed it to Remus, who eagerly snatched it up and wrapped it around himself, disappearing. "Dad gave it to me so we could finish the map," James said to Sirius and I, "Not only that, but he told me a very interesting bit of information, too. Apparently back in his day, there was a rumour going 'round that the last caretaker before Filch knew all the secret passageways 'round the castle. That's how Filch is getting around. There's secret passageways all over the school… and," he added as I laughed at Sirius nearly salivating at him, "There's a _map_, probably some place is Filch's office."

Sirius' eyes danced with glee, "We need to get our hands on the map!"

Remus pulled the cloak half off so that he looked like he'd been cut down the centre and we started laughing. "My dad wouldn't ever do anything as cool as this, James, your dad must be great! Mine is too busy following all the rules, he's a real stickler for rules."

I didn't say it, but I thought, _other than the one about you not attending Hogwarts, maybe_. "My mum was a rule follower, but my dad liked to dance around the edge of rules quite often. Though I doubt their Muggle schools were as interesting as Hogwarts."

"My parents are always breaking rules," Sirius said. "Not in a good way, though," he added hastily afterwards.

"My dad was a troublemaker in his time," James explained, "Like Bilius. In fact, I told him the Filibuster Firework story and he thought it was hilarious! Laughed about it so hard he was wheezing. I reckon giving me the cloak was Dad's way of passing on the torch."

Suddenly there came a shriek of surprise from behind us and we turned to see Peter disappearing from the half-opened door, a sack of biscuits and butterbeer on the floor where he'd dropped them when he'd looked in and seen _half_ of Remus.

James was practically crying from laughter, "His face, though, did you see his face?" he whimpered. I was doubled over, clutching my stomach.

"Probably scared the pants right off him," agreed Sirius.

Remus tugged the cloak the rest of the way off, laughing as well, and handed it to me. "I better go get him before all of Gryffindor thinks I've been cut in half," he said, and he ran off after Peter, careful to step over the sack of treats.

That night, I couldn't fall asleep, I was too busy thinking about all the things we were going to do with the cloak now that we had it. At around two in the morning I crept down to the common room in my pyjamas, deciding to try and fall asleep to the lull of the fire.

To my surprise, I heard quiet footsteps coming from the boys' dorm around ten minutes later. I turned and saw the outline of Sirius. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, and not the good kind like Nearly Headless Nick.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked, rushing over to him. The poor guy was shaking from something, and his palms were slick with sweat. "Nightmare?"

I could make out a nod through his shaking body. I wrapped my arms around him, and patted his back. He was nearly struggling to breathe, he was in such a panic.

"Sirius, it's okay," I said, "It's okay. You're okay. Whatever it was, it was just a dream."

Sirius just couldn't stop, though. I suggested, "Why don't I get you a cup of tea? That'll help. C'mon." I guided Sirius into the most comfortable chair in the room, and I carefully stoked the fire up a bit as it was dying in the hearth.

Sirius hugged his knees to his chest and tried to calm his heavy breathing.

"Here," I handed Sirius a cup of hot tea. I sat down on the couch next to him and stayed quiet while he sipped his tea appreciatively. When the tea was nearly gone, Sirius held it in his palms and basked in the warmth of the fire. I glanced over at him. "That must've been quite the nightmare, huh? You alright now, mate?"

Sirius nodded, putting the cup down on the coffee table before us, "I am now," he said.

"Good," I said. I patted Sirius' knee and looked back at the fire.

**Q&A TIME!**

**MyBeewing says: I suppose one good thing is coming from the coronavirus, well two: no school and more updates, right ? I hope your lessons online work without any trouble. Will you still have exams at the end of the school year, then ? Anyway, good chapter, and I hope, you update soon !**

**Haha, yeah, I guess my progress on this series has grown a bunch. My professors have all started using this program called 'Zoom' which is sort of like Skype but for schoolwork. It's weird, but I'm technically on Spring Break, so I don't have lessons for another week or so. In terms of exams, I THINK I'll have them? I guess they'll just be online. I dunno, this is very strange hahaha.**


	26. 4th January, 1972

I woke up to find that Sirius and I were still sitting on the couch by the fire in the common room. Sirius' head leaned against my shoulder and his hair fell over his eyes, which were puffy and red from crying. The fire was slowly dying in the hearth and outside the sky was a faint purple, the first vestiges of light coming through the clouds over the Forbidden Forest. It was still silent in the Gryffindor dormitories, but I could tell it wouldn't be long before everyone would be up. "Sirius," I whispered, rousing my friend, "We've gotta go up to our dorms before everyone wakes up. I'll walk you to your bed. C'mon, mate."

Sleepily, Sirius followed me up the steps to his bed, where I helped him climb up onto the mattress and carefully tucked him in. I felt a fierce surge of protectiveness over my friend, wondering what would reduce this brave boy to such a state. Sirius drifted back to sleep the moment his head hit the pillow and I swept the hair off his forehead before heading to my own room, crawling back into my own bed and tugging the blankets up to my chin.

It seemed as though my eyes had only been closed a second when I felt Lily shake me awake. "You should be getting up, or we'll be late to Defense."

I grumbled, rubbing my eyes and sitting up blearily. "I've been up all night, just couldn't get to sleep for some reason." I didn't feel like it was my place to tell her Sirius had been having night terrors.

"We're going to be late to class," Lily replied.

"Go on without me. I think I'm gonna skive off to sleep."

Lily frowned. "McGonagall will hear about it, though, you know she's not going to approve of you skiving off class,"

I shrugged, and let out a fake cough, "I'm not feeling too well. I'll explain it to her when she gets ear of it. I'll do the detentions if she's got a problem with it." As soon as Lily would leave for class, I was going to watch over Sirius, and let him sleep. I might even take a snooze in Remus' bed for the hell of it.

"But-"

"It's not your problem, is it?" I demanded, "You go on to class so she's not angry with you, and when Tutman asks just tell him I'm going to Madam Pomfrey's"

Lily frowned, hesitant to listen, before nodding. "Alright, well feel better."

As soon as her footsteps faded off down the stairs, I waited a minute before popping into the boys' room.

Sirius was fast asleep, thankfully. James looked about to pounce on him to wake him up, but I held up my hand. "I was up with him the whole night. Let him sleep, I'm skiving off class to stay with him."

James cocked his eyebrow, and sat down. "There's no way you two are getting to skip class and I have to go. I'm staying here, then, too."

I shrugged. "Ok. Mind if I have a quick nap on your bed? Wake me when he's up." I gestured to Sirius. James nodded and I slowly laid back into his pillow, falling back to sleep.

It was several hours later when I felt James sitting on me, trying to get me to wake up. I giggled, and sat up. Sirius was sitting up on his bed already, his Defense book open on his lap, waving his wand and practising a simple shield charm quietly. "Morning, Princess." he lowered his wand and closed his textbook.

"Morning," I replied.

The happenings of the night before seemed to hang between us, as though we were each waiting for the other to say something about it, neither being sure what would be best to say. James crossed his legs and stared at us, likely wondering what was going on. I stared at my hands awkwardly.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Thanks," he said meekly, "For - know - last night. Being understanding and… and all."

I nodded, "Anytime, Sirius." I then explained to James what exactly had happened. His eyes widened in sadness.

"Mate," James said once I had finished explaining, "If you ever want to, you know, talk about it… we're here to listen, alright? I won't butt in or anything, but just so you know. If you want to, we're here."

Sirius nodded.

James got up and walked over to his desk. He started to pick up his own Defense book, but his eyes fell on the box holding the invisibility cloak, still sitting on his desk, where we'd left it after we'd shown Peter the cloak's abilities the night before. He turned back to Sirius and I. "Do you guys want to give the cloak a go?" he suggested.

Sirius looked up, a grin spreading slowly over his face, and I smirked.

It wasn't easy, walking with all three of us under the invisibility cloak. The boys weren't nearly as short as I, either, so the cloak only just covered them both. We practised walking about in the dormitory before we snuck down the stairs, through the empty common room and out into the corridor through the Fat Lady's portrait. Everyone was in their first classes, so the halls were mostly empty except for the occasional student on their way to the toilets or one of the free-period Hufflepuffs, who were wandering about.

We hadn't even had to discuss where we would go once we had the cloak on, but instinctively headed in the direction of Filch's office with the goal of getting our hands on the information about the secret passageways for our map of the castle. We crept along until we were only down the corridor from Filch's office and hung out there, peeping around the corner, trying to decide if the office was empty or not.

"Have either of you seen Mrs. Norris anywhere?" James asked, and Sirius and I shook our heads.

"I wonder if cats can see through invisibility cloaks?" I wondered aloud.

"Dunno," replied Sirius.

We waited for several long moments, and then James said, "I don't think Filch is in there."

"Shall we go for it then?" I questioned.

"Alright," Sirius agreed, and we counted to ten before creeping out of our hidey nook and scrambling down the hallway to Filch's office door. I pressed one ear to it, listening carefully through the thick fabric of the invisibility cloak. Not a sound stirred within. "Sounds clear," I hissed.

Sirius pushed the door in and we stepped inside the caretaker's office.

James let out a low whistle.

Filch had a very impressive collection of ancient torture devices hanging up 'round the walls with thick chains and a motley collection of prank items spilling out of a drawer in a big mahogany desk. Trick wands, bendy fish, tyres and more, all clustered together in the depths of the drawer. James slowly pulled the cloak off our shoulders so we could look about more easily, folding the cloak over his shoulders like a shawl. Sirius began to open up the drawer and rummaged around in all the stuff Filch had confiscated over what had to be years.

"Right on - Fanged Frisbee!" muttered Sirius, taking the frisbee out and shoving it carefully into his pocket, "And dungbombs! These'll come in handy…"

As Sirius filled his pockets with prank items, James and I had a look around. I spun an old globe on a low bookcase filled with textbooks that looked as though they'd been magicked by crafty students - one of which was hiccupping. The windows were high and narrow, and little light was let into the dusty office. _Considering how uppity Filch gets about dirt getting in the castle, this office is awfully dank and musty_, I thought. There was a filing cabinet and I reached for a handle to the drawer, opening it up. The drawer sprang out a lot longer than I had expected, and it hit me in the stomach, making me stumble back several feet for the length of it. "Blimey," I laughed, pulling out a random folder. "He keeps notes on every misdemeanour ever!" I placed the random file, which had several notes about a student who consistently tracked in mud on their trainers.

James came over and grabbed a thick one labelled 'Weasley, Bilius'. "Look at this, Bilius' got his own folder!"

"I've found a whole stash of Filibuster's!" Sirius replied.

James leafed through the likely impressive laundry list of pranks Bilius had committed during his Hogwarts career. "Bilius is a bloody genius," James muttered.

I began to read over his shoulder, and Sirius appeared at his side with a pair of omnioculars he was staring through backwards to make everything look far off and bumped into James' shoulder with a chuckle. "What's that?"

"It reads like a bloody guide book to mischief," replied James proudly.

Sirius lowered the omnioculars to have a look and laughed, "That's a thick folder!" he exclaimed, then, with a grin, "I hope ours is as thick by the time we're in sixth year."

"We'd better get crackin' if we're going to keep up with Bilius," replied James with a smirk.

James started to put the folder back but I stopped his hand. "Keep it. You might be able to mine it for ideas." I winked.

"Good call," James replied, and stuffed the folder into his book bag at his hip.

"Where do you reckon the map could be?" I asked, looking around.

"Desk drawer?" Sirius suggested.

We converged on the desk, each taking a separate side and pulling open the drawers. More joke shop items cluttered these, along with broken quills and dried ink wells and bits of parchment. We unfolded every bit of parchment we came upon, hoping to find a map on the opposite side. We got to the very bottom drawers before we found anything worth mentioning to each other. "Look," Sirius said, waving a list in our faces, "These look like passwords. Yeah, see, Gryffindor Tower - _Bat Bogey Hex_. That's our common room password. These must go to everything all over the castle."

"Are there prefect's toilets on there?" I asked, getting excited.

"Sure are," Sirius replied, "Look, Slytherin prefect's toilet - _Salazar_. Figures, they use their founder's name, how bloody original."

James grinned, "At least now we can find out what Tutman was up to in the toilet!"

"Or else just see what a Slytherin toilet looks like. Could explain Snivelly's greasy hair if there's no bath in there!" laughed Sirius.

"Else none of the other Slytherins let him use it, in fear of an oil slick," I quipped.

Before one of them could respond, there was a sound in the corridor - Filch's voice! - James rushed to pull the invisibility cloak from 'round his shoulders as Sirius and I dove toward him. We raced to the corner of the room, wedging ourselves between the bookcase where the hiccuping book lay and the wall. We'd only just gotten the cloak over us - in fact, Sirius was bent over making sure his trainers were under, when the door opened and Filch came in.

"Skiving off classes to muck about in the library," Filch was grumbling, "Causing trouble, no doubt, trying to look up some restricted book, were you?" he was dragging a student behind him, "Lying about it, too… sit. Sit." he shoved the student into a chair opposite his desk and scurried around it himself, nearly walking into the filing cabinet's open drawer, which James had forgotten to shut. Filch paused at the drawer and stared at it for a moment suspiciously. "Somebody's been here," he croaked lowly.

I was so busy worrying over Filch that I didn't even notice who the student was until Sirius elbowed me and pointed. It was Severus Snape, looking sour with his arms crossed and his greasy hair hanging long over his forehead, casting a shadow over his nose.

"I was just looking up something for homework," Snape snapped, "For Tutman's class. You can ask him. He'll verify I needed to look something up."

Filch was too busy being distracted by the open drawer, though, his eyes running over the files and I winced when I saw Filch pause at the gap where Bilius' folder should have been. I couldn't believe we forgot to close the damn drawer! Filch's lips slowly mouthed _Weasley_ and his face turned quite red.

Severus' eyes had widened, meanwhile, and he turned to look around the office anxiously, his eyes darting around the room for a moment, a wild, confused look on his face. I had the very unsettling feeling that perhaps Severus somehow knew we were there. I looked at James and Sirius and nodded my head toward the door. We slowly inched our way away from the wall, trying very hard not to make a sound.

Filch turned around and glowered at Severus a moment. "Were you being a distraction?" he demanded, "Trying to lure me away from my office? What are you playing at?"

"A distraction?" asked Severus, looking back at Filch instead of the place where we had been, "A distraction for what? I told you, I was trying to look something up for Defense Against the Dark Arts, that's it." He glowered right back at Filch.

"Well somebody's been in my files!" snapped Filch, "Somebody's been rummaging about in my office!"

We were nearly to the door.

"_I_ didn't have anything to do with that," Severus snapped angrily, "I was just trying to use a bloody _library_."

"Before it was opened!" shouted Filch. He paused at the sound of a knock at the door. Sirius had reached out and rapped his fist against it in hopes of making Filch open it up. Severus turned around and glared at the spot where we were, twisted in his chair. "I'm _busy_!" Filch snarled, "Who could possibly - with a student - how can I be expected to - punishments are never doled fairly - should've let me keep me chains - bloody interruptions…" Filch stormed 'round the desk to the door and Severus' eyes narrowed at the empty doorway as Filch flung open the door to reveal nobody was in the corridor. "PEEVES!" shouted Filch, overcome with rage. He shook with anger and rushed into the hall. "SHOW YOURSELF, POLTERGEIST, OR I'LL HAVE YOU THROWN OUT OF THE CASTLE-" his voice echoed down the empty corridor.

James, Sirius and I ran faster than we'd ever run in our lives, panting and wheezing by the time we reached Gryffindor Tower. "_BAT BOGEY HEX, BAT BOGEY HEX!_" wheezed Sirius as we approached the Fat Lady, tearing off the cloak as we fell through the portrait hole and into the common room, dropping to the carpet in a heap of cloak, trainers, sweat, and laughter.

"Blimey, that was a close one," I laughed, tears of amusement in my eyes.

Around lunchtime, I heard the sound of the portrait hole open, and I looked up from the files Sirius, James, and I had spread out all over the floor of the common room to see Remus and Peter crawl through. James and Sirius had started scrambling madly to collect a mess of parchments laying about us on the carpet. "Don't worry guys, it's just Remus and Peter." They dropped the parchment back down to the carpet.

"Well?" Remus asked, "Has Pomfrey diagnosed you three as lazy layabouts, then?" James laughed, but with a glare from Remus, he stopped. "Tutman was in a right state."

"I was actually ill, you know!" Sirius replied. "I was up half the night."

I nodded, "So was I, with him. I've never seen anybody puke like he did, it was like a Filibuster's had been set off in his guts." I grinned at the disgusting mental image I'd fabricated.

"Ugh." Peter groaned, not one for gruesome images. "That's nasty! No wonder you didn't want to go to class. I wouldn't either."

I had organised the parchment pages into several stacks, and Remus pointed to them. "What's all this, anyway?" he asked, going over and sitting down. Peter crawled over and sat behind him on the couch.

"This, Remus, is brilliance in the written form," James replied. We then launched into an embellished retelling of our invisible adventure to Filch's office and the acquisition of our prize of prankster gold.

By the time we'd finished the telling of it, Remus' expression was somewhere between amusement and disapproval. "You _stole_ Bilius' file and now you've read it?" he asked, eyes wide, "That's invasion of privacy, or… or something."

"Yeah, but listen to this," I said, grabbing a piece of parchment that James had set aside as a favourite. "Offender, Bilius Weasley, second year Gryffindor. Offense," I grinned, "Transfiguring books in the library to have wings and setting them about flying around the room, causing much distress to Madam Pince. Update, several volumes escaped through an open window and had to be captured by members of the Ministry of Magic's Muggle-Liaison Office once spotted flying over a Muggle community over one hundred kilometres from Hogsmeade." I looked up. Peter laughed so hard he toppled sideways on the couch cushions and wheezed, hugging himself as he rocked about.

"But what if one of the books had ended up in Muggle hands?" Remus asked, horror-struck.

James rolled his eyes, "You sound like Evans," he said, "Laugh, Remus… it's _funny!_"

Remus stared at us, amused but clearly fighting it.

"There's loads of bloody genius things Bilius has done, all here, like a _guidebook_, a gift to us," Sirius said. "This is the sort of stuff _legends_ are made from."

"Yeah, well…" Remus said, pretending to still be quite disapproving. "You've gone and used the invisibility cloak without Peter and I."

Sirius grinned. "Only for a test run, mate. No worries. We've got loads of plans for other adventures!"

Once we had collected up all the parchments of Bilius Weasley's file and tucked the whole thing, plus the silvery cloak, back up into James' trunk, the five of us headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. Lily, Alice, Derek, Bilius, Frank, and Bilius' girlfriend were already clustered around the table, along with several others from Gryffindor house. Derek stood up and waved us over the moment we walked into the Hall, an excited look on his face as we joined them. Lily looked down from her plate as James, Sirius and I sat across from her. "Hey, there's the first years, we were wondering where you lot were at," said Bilius with a grin.

"Sirius was ill," James said.

"Sorry to hear that, mate," Derek said, "Ought to have some dandelion tea. It brightens me up drinking it. Grand for indigestion, you know."

Sirius nodded, "Sounds spiffing," he said.

"Speaking of us being ill… Lily, could I borrow your notes from Defense Against the Dark Arts this morning?" I asked, slightly embarrassed.

"You can borrow mine," offered Peter eagerly.

I looked to Lily with pleading eyes. Peter's notes would be pointless and we both knew it. She glanced over at Peter. "You were doodling half the class anyway," Lily said. "You were going to borrow my notes too, remember?"

"True," Peter agreed. "Sorry, Sabrina."

"Thanks anyway, Pete." I said with a smile. Since his argument with James, I wanted to make him feel more included, and part of the group. There were certain times where, me being the only girl of the group, I felt left out myself. I knew what it was like to stick out.

"And yes, you can use my notes," Lily said, spooning applesauce onto her plate.

"Thanks," I said again.

That night, I was in the boys' dormitory, laughing and reading more of Bilius Weasley's pranks from his file, when a little knock came on the door. We were already in our pyjamas, except for Remus, who was still pouring over homework that had been assigned to us. He got up and pulled open the door and was surprised to find Lily standing there. "Uh… hi," he said, keeping the door closed a bit.

"Who is it?" called James, leaping up from the bed and bouncing up behind Remus. He wrenched the door away from Remus before he could say any sort of warning answer, and found himself standing before Lily Evans in his ratty old quaffle-print pyjamas. "Evans," he said, shocked.

Lily gave him a once-over. "Nice get-up, Potter," she said.

James dashed back into the room, horrified. He threw a pillow at me, and I fell over, laughing. "All you girls aren't supposed to be in the boys' dormitories! It's not fair, we can't go in the girls'! What in the bloody hell are you doing up here?" Peter, Sirius and I were laughing.

"I came to see Sabrina. You wanted notes, right?" Lily asked.

"Well _blimey_, this couldn't wait 'till tomorrow?" demanded James, his face red.

Lily laughed, "Get over it, Potter, I don't give a damn about your knickers." She turned to me. "You said you wanted them, and I figured it could help with the homework we have…"

"Yeah, sure," I replied. "Let's go down to the common room. That way this lot can calm down."

"Alright," Lily said, smirking. She looked over at James and winked, like he used to do to her the first half of the year, and left the room, headed back downstairs.

James was redder than the Gryffindor house banner hanging over his bed.

I gathered my things and ducked on down the stairs. Lily was at a wide table in the common room, her own notes, quill, and ink laid out on the table before her. I walked over and dropped my things down on the table. "Wow, that's a lot of notes," I murmured as she unrolled one of the scrolls she'd filled with notes.

"I take detailed notes," Lily offered.

"Me, too," I said in appreciation. Lily started to walk off, but I stopped her. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"Back to the dorm?" Lily said.

"Well hang on, I'll copy these and see if I've got any questions before you go. Then, if you don't mind, I'll bring them up to the boys. Peter wanted to see them, too," I reminded her. Lily glanced back at the stairs, then shrugged and went over and sat down with me. I dunked my quill into the inkwell at the edge of my page as I started copying the notes down meticulously with my messy handwriting. She was watching my quill tip scrape across the parchment.

"So," she said after I silently copied the first couple lines down, "How was your holiday?"

I shrugged, "Just… was, I guess. Had a nice Christmas with my parents, who are still reeling with excitement over the fact I'm a witch. They got me some new books, and a broomstick that I'm looking forward to bringing here next year." I didn't tell her that I'd essentially lost all of the few friends I had, and spent the holiday filled with crippling loneliness. "How was yours?" I asked.

Lily shrugged, too. "Like you said. Just was." she frowned. "I've got a twin sister who's not magical and she's jealous of Hogwarts and everything. Hates me for it. We haven't spoken, basically, since I got my letter." She sighed, "I wish she'd forgive me for being a witch without her."

"She's your _twin_ you say, and you're a witch and she's not? That's interesting," I said, "You'd think you would be the same."

"We're fraternal," explained Lily. "We're quite different. We look entirely different and everything. I suppose it isn't _terribly_ shocking we wouldn't both be witches. But Tuney seems to think I'm wicked for having magic when she doesn't. As though I chose to leave her out of it."

I nodded. "Sometimes, people just don't understand when there's something different about somebody else… good or bad." I sighed. "For what it's worth, I don't think you're wicked."

"Well, thank you," Lily replied. I'd copied down about half the first page of parchment already. I dipped my quill in the ink again, as she asked, "Have you got any siblings?"

I shook my head. "Just me. No Muggle friends, now, either, just my parents and I."

Lily was silent for a moment, pondering what I'd said. I faked a yawn to break the silence, and went back to writing.

"Not having any trouble reading the notes then?"

"Not really, no," I replied.

"Good, I'm really tired," she explained, "Peter can copy the notes over in the morning. You can keep them 'til then, and hand me them back in Charms."

I nodded, "Alright. Well, thanks for letting me borrow them. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Lily packed up her things and headed back up to our dorm, her gorgeous red hair bouncing with her steps. I didn't notice I was smiling until after she left, before going back to writing.

I hadn't realised I'd fallen asleep 'til I felt a gentle shake. It was Sirius, giving me a haunted look. He was covered in sweat and trembling, and that made me think he'd had those nightmares again. I closed up my things, and we sat in front of the fire. I was determined not to fall asleep like last time. I chewed on my lower lip and Sirius watched the flickering of the flames dancing in the hearth. He rubbed his nose and sniffled.

I looked over at him and said, very gently, "You know, when I have nightmares, my mum, she tells me that talking about it will make them go away. If you want to talk about it… I'll listen."

"I doubt very much that talking about it will make my nightmares go away," mumbled Sirius.

"You never know," I said, "Sometimes just getting the poor thoughts out of your mind will clear them off."

Sirius shook his head slowly, "They aren't just thoughts for me, Sabrina. They're memories or something… realisations, maybe. They're the truth."

I shifted so I was facing Sirius, "Then tell me about it and we'll figure out how to make it not be the truth."

Sirius took a deep breath, looking down at the cup of tea I had made. "You can't undo who my parents are, mate."

My brow stitched together. "Did something happen on holiday?" I asked, with concern in my voice. "What happened?" I asked. "Let me help."

Sirius hesitated for a moment more, but he couldn't hold it back anymore. "They hate me, Sabrina," he choked the words out, as though it strangled him to say them.

"I'm sure they don't hate-" I began, but Sirius cut me off.

"_Yes, they do_," he said fiercely.

I remembered Sirius saying, way back when we'd first come to Hogwarts, that his mum and dad would be angry with him being sorted into Gryffindor, that the Blacks had spent decades and centuries cycling through Slytherin, and Sirius was the first Black ever to be a Gryffindor. I had honestly thought Sirius had been exaggerating the anger that his parents would feel about the sorting, but the look on Sirius' face now… all pale, blotchy, and afraid… said otherwise.

"Mother used the Cruciatus Curse on me," he whispered fearfully. "It's one of the three illegal Unforgivable Curses, and it causes extreme pain on the body. It was because I'd talked to a Muggle, one of our neighbours. She used an Unforgivable Curse on her _son_, Sabrina. She hates me. She's going to blast me right off the family tree one day, I just know it, and then where will I be? I'll have nowhere to go… no place to call home… no food, money, anything. I'll be homeless, living on the streets like a dog-"

"Shh, sh, sh," I urged, waving my hands for Sirius to bring down the volume of his voice as he'd slowly gotten louder and louder as he spoke. "First off, you aren't a dog. Secondly, Sirius, you're foolish if you think for a second I'd like you have no place to go! _If_ something awful like that ever happens… ever, even if you just want a break from it all… you come to my place."

"Your parents would... Would be okay with that?" Sniffled Sirius.

I shrugged. "If not, we have a basement. I could hide you out."

Sirius rubbed the tears from his eyes that had sprung up. "Really? You swear it?" he asked.

I nodded solemnly, "_Yes_, Sirius. You won't ever go without so long as I'm around to see to it that you're alright. I promise." I smiled.

Sirius smiled back. "I _literally_ do not know how to repay you, ever, Stratford."

I shrugged, "That's what friends are for, Black."

He hugged me.


	27. 5th January, 1972

"McGonagall wants to see you two," Remus announced in my ear, making me jump.

I pried my eyes open. The sun was coming in through the window in the common room. I stretched. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Lunch," Peter replied. He was going through the books in his bag.

"_Lunch_?" Sirius asked, staggered. "_How?_ Have you two been to classes already?"

Remus nodded. "Yep. And, as I warned you this morning…"

"You warned us of something?" I asked, yawning. "When?" I vaguely remember dreaming of a cat with Remus' face meowing in my ears, and me grumbling and drifting back to sleep.

"... Flitwick and Binns both noticed. Told McGonagall now. She wants to see you in her office. _Both_ of you," he added, not letting the interruption actually interrupt him.

"Binns hasn't even noticed yet that he's dead," Sirius groaned from the depths of the blankets, "How in the bloody hell did he notice we weren't there?"

"Just our luck," I groaned back.

Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk, her square spectacles low on her nose, staring at us in our seats across from her. She had her hands folded on her knee, waiting. Sirius and I didn't dare exchange looks, but each kept our eyes focused on different things. Sirius stared at the pattern of the wood on her desk while my eyes skimmed over the books in the shelves behind her. They were old textbooks, many quite ragged, and included volumes with funny names like _Purrfecting Myself: A Memoir, Registration and Boring Other Topics You'll Need to Know To Turn, _and _So You Want to Be an Animagus?_ I wondered what they were about.

The clock ticked aimlessly behind us.

Finally Professor McGonagall took her glasses off all the way, folding them carefully and putting them on her desk. "Miss Stratford, Mister Black… let's make this easier on all of us, shall we?"

I looked up at her.

"I know that you were both absent from multiple classes… not just today, but yesterday as well. Is that correct?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

I looked down at my knees, ashamed of the answer.

"Well?" she asked.

"Yes," squeaked Sirius.

McGonagall nodded. "That's what I thought," she said. "And I suppose, Mister Black… Miss Stratford, that it is a coincidence, then, that you go missing from class and _mysterious_ break-ins have happened to Argus Filch's office during the _exact times_ during which you _should_ have been in class?"

I gulped. Sirius looked away.

She sighed, shaking her head, and set herself back in her chair. "Do either of you care to tell me what exactly has possessed you to sneak into Filch's office and steal other students' files?" she questioned.

I looked up in confusion, "Students' files?" I asked, emphasising the plural.

"Yes, Stratford," replied McGonagall, "Student files! Three, to be exact. Bilius Weasley, Lucius Malfoy, and Severus Snape. Their files have all gone missing from Mr. Filch's drawers."

I looked at Sirius in honest confusion. Sure, we'd taken Bilius Weasley's, but the other two… who would want to read about Malfoy or Snape? Sirius looked just as clueless as I felt. He turned to look up at McGonagall, "But, professor, we haven't taken all those files," he said.

Professor McGonagall glowered down at him, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth or not. Sirius stared right back at her, quite confidently. I did, too. She pursed her lips.

McGonagall stood up, looming over us quite ominously. She stared into our eyes in turn, and said, "Bare in mind, that I will be looking after you both, making sure nothing of this sort happens again. I will not put up with hearing about Gryffindor students marauding about the castle, up to no good at every turn." She sighed and glanced at the clock on her wall, which began to chime, a funny little cuckoo bird popping out of a little house. "It's time for us all three to get to Transfiguration class with your fellow first years," she said. She paused as my belly growled loudly. "Now, am I correct in saying neither of you made it down to the Great Hall to eat?"

We both nodded, and I clutched my stomach.

McGonagall waved her wand and a tray of sandwiches appeared on her desk, spinning to a stop before our very eyes. "Have a sandwich," she commanded, "And come along to class."

Sirius and I grabbed handfuls of sandwiches, stacking them upon one another so that we had quite a good amount between us, and McGonagall magicked the sandwich tray away as easily as she'd conjured it. Holding the door open, she watched as we passed her by, already stuffing the sandwiches into our mouths, and then she locked the door to her office behind her securely.

"Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape's files?" Remus asked, looking at Sirius and I with furrowed eyebrows, pondering the news we shared. "Who would steal _their_ files, though? And, better yet, why?" he mused, rubbing his chin.

James, Sirius, Remus and I were sitting around their dorm, while Peter went to get snacks from the kitchens. Sirius and I had filled Remus and James in on all the things Professor McGonagall had told us when she called us to her office, and, although Remus thought it very unfair that we'd skived so many classes and only gotten sandwiches for it, he was still intrigued by the facts of the story.

"That's all McGonagall said about it," I said with a shrug, "Apparently whoever's done it was in Filch's office this morning, when Sirius and I were asleep."

"I bet it was ol' Snivelly," James announced.

"Why would Severus steal his own file?" demanded Remus sensibly.

Sirius answered, "To make it look like it wasn't him who's done it!"

Remus rolled his eyes, and turned to James, who was idly rummaging through Bilius Weasley's file, "Is it only the detention notes in there, or are there other things, like marks and addresses and all that?"

James flipped back a few pages, "I mean it's basically just Filch's notes about misdoings but sure, there's a section of your typical information - you know, the birthday, addresses, blood status, and that lot." He shrugged. "Why?"

"Well maybe whoever stole the notes was interested in _that_ information, rather than their detention records?" Remus suggested.

Sirius was laying on his back. "_Nobody_ really wants to know anything about that lot. Not for any good reason, anyway."

Peter came back then with a bag full of food he'd knicked from the kitchens, and we laid about on the floor of the dorm, doing homework and laughing over jokes that we'd made with each other as we studied, the mysterious disappearances of the files forgotten, for the most part.

**SummerTheSlytherinApricot says, "****awwwww ok i ship it so much! And soft, scared Sirius gives me reasons to live. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Thank you for giving my life meaning ahahahahah. But this is so good! I'm just a lil bit addicted."**

**This is so sweet of you, I'm giggling with happiness right now. And yeah, soft Sirius is best Sirius. I want to handle the abuse in his household very delicately, so I figured that while ultimately James is his best mate, Sabrina could always be a shoulder to cry on.**


	28. 14th and 16th January, 1972

**_14th January, 1972_**

"That wasn't funny," Lily said the moment she'd stepped through the portrait hole and found the five of us in the common room. James had spent the entirety of today's Potions class annoying her and Snape by sending paper airplanes with love notes to Lily into Snape's thick hair with a Sticking Charm. James and Sirius were sitting on the floor with Peter, showing him how to do the charm, while Remus and I were settled at a table with our books open, about to study. Lily put her hands on her hips as we looked up.

James smiled in that charming way he always did. "Oh come off it, Evans," he drawled, "It was only for a laugh. Besides, you need a break sometimes from getting stuck in Snivelly's grease trap… that's a real concern, you know. "

Lily looked furious, glowering at James. "James Potter, you are absolutely horrible and I hope you fail Potions." she turned her nose up and walked primly towards the stairs that went up to our dorm.

We all burst into laughter the moment she left and James began shouting stupid, unheartfelt apologies.

I soon regretted my mirth, however, as I was nearly unable to continue studying for several hours. James began singing… excuse me, not singing, it was more like a warbling, half-sung half-shouted rendition of some sappy Broomstick Boys song. It was funny the first five times, but soon Remus and I decided to head up to the boys' dorms just to get a bit of quiet.

Eventually, around midnight, the two of us came back down to spend time mapping. We attempted to get all five of us under cloak, which took quite a while. Peter knocked a vase over, and we tried to speed the process of getting under the cloak up as we heard footsteps coming down the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

It was Lily! She walked down the stairs and peered around the common room. I tried my best to hold my breath. Her eyebrows furrowed, but she turned to go back to our room. We were nearly free, but then Sirius _sneezed_. Oh, I was so going to pummel him when we were in the clear!

Lily turned 'round again and squinted into the dark. "Oi, who's there?" she demanded, looking around.

We made sure to not make a sound.

"I know somebody's down here, I heard you sneeze!" she said, "It's after midnight, you know, you could get in an awful lot of trouble for being out of your dormitory! You'll lose points for Gryffindor!" She looked so certain that she'd find us, and she wrapped her arms around herself to protect against the cold. After several long moments of her swivelling around the room, Lily made her way back up the stairs to our bedroom.

We creeped slowly towards the portrait hole, just to be safe. We had nearly made it, when Lily ran down the stairs once more. "James Potter," she announced as she raced down the stairs, "I know you're down here and I demand you show yourself right this instant!" My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, and I looked to James, who was stoic and concentrated.

"I know you're invisible, James!" she accused. There was a part in the back of my mind that found this whole thing hilarious, especially how she didn't suspect me, considering I was her _roommate _and I clearly wasn't in bed. She really bought me draping the curtains of my four-poster closed, to pretend I was asleep.

Eventually, she probably realised how foolish she looked, and headed back up the stairs once more. We ran through the portrait hole as fast as five people underneath a thick cloak could run. So it was more of a quick-paced hobble, in all honesty.

**_16th January, 1972_**

"We are _never - ever -_ going to finish this bloody map!" wailed Sirius. It was more than midway through January, and despite the fact that we'd now had use of the invisibility cloak - thanks to James' dad - for over two weeks, we'd still not finished the map. Sirius threw himself onto his bed and sprawled across it, legs and arms out like a giant starfish, "My life's ambition… never to be fully realised…"

"Mapping Hogwarts is your life's ambition? That's pretty lame, mate," I said, smirking. James opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out the snitch Sirius had stolen from the changing rooms down by the pitch, and polished it off with the edge of his robes. He too raised his eyebrow at Sirius.

"It'll get finished," Remus said patiently. He was carefully folding the parchment we were using for the map, "It's just going to take some time, that's all. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"You could hardly compare our map to _Rome_," Peter said.

"That's right," agreed Sirius, sitting up, "Our map is far more important."

"Than _Rome?_" demanded James with a chuckle, "You're mad."

Sirius mimed being stabbed in the heart. "You've killed me, Potter," he said, "Killed me with your careless attitude." He threw himself backwards onto the mattress again and pretended to writhe, as though under great suffering.

"Speaking of Rome, Sirius would make a fantastic Caesar, then." I giggled.

James rolled his eyes, "You're the most dramatic person I've ever known," he declared.

The map, despite Sirius' complaints, was actually coming along quite nicely. We'd worked tediously in adding new information to it, and there had turned out to be far more corridors and classrooms on the fourth floor than we'd expected and it had held us up. That, and James' eagerness to follow Filch or Mrs. Norris whenever we'd spotted them 'round the castle in hopes that Filch might use one of the secret passageways. But the only thing we'd discovered was a hidden hallway that connected as a shortcut from one corridor to the other in the Transfiguration wing that way.

Sirius was simply getting anxious, and I was too, but for a different reason. The full moon was nearing, and I was keeping watch on Remus, still waiting to have my werewolf theory confirmed. Ever since I'd verbalised my findings with James and Sirius, I'd been all but counting the days down until the next full moon on the 28th.

"He looks _tired_ all the time, have you noticed?" I whispered to Sirius as Remus excused himself from our little study group by the fire to go to bed this evening.

He nodded his head knowingly, but James, who was still holding out on my theory, shrugged, "Dunno, maybe he's just working too hard."

"But look, he's leaving homework unfinished," Sirius defended, "That's not like him."

James shrugged again, "Leaving homework isn't exactly a textbook definition on identifying a werewolf, though, is it? Otherwise you'd see me prowling at night far more often than I already do."

**Q&A:**

**MyBeewing says, "Mmmmm, the mystery is getting bigger… James and Sirius are really blinded by their hatred of Snape, it makes them clueless. I wonder if Sabrina will influence Peter's decisions in the future ? Because if she and Remus are kinder to him, he might not turn spy… One never knows (well, the author does, but still)."**

**Yeah, James and Sirius, true to form, REALLLY hate Snape. Sabrina is currently just going along, but her feelings towards him will be rather neutral for a while. However, she will form a VERY strong opinion of him in later years as a result of something he will eventually do. In terms of Peter's decisions, I'm not going to reveal specifics of course, but let's say it will get ANGSTY! But at the moment, Sabrina thinks Peter is a sweetie, and considers herself to be his friend. She sees how out of place he feels in the group, so she tries her best to make him included. Whether this will change his betrayal or not, we shall see...**

**Relish says, "For some reason I feel like Sabrina's animagus would be like a female lion cub. Like simba but not simba more Nala but as a leetle baby lion. Cuz tbh I don't see Sabrina growing up hahah. And plus lion cubs are so adorable and I imagine that she would be the smallest in the group (even smaller than Lily) after all the boys hit their growth spurts."**

**Yeah, it's gonna be a long process for her to grow up. But currently, she's the shortest of the group by far, even shorter than Lily. I'm planning on having her have a huge growth spurt at around year four, where she'll actually be the tallest for like a year, but she's really not going to grow more than an inch or two after that. So eventually, the group's heights, from tallest to shortest by the time they graduate will be: Remus, Sirius, Sabrina, James, Peter, Lily. So she's going to be tallish but not HUGE (probably around 172cm). In terms of her animagus form, I'm sorry to burst your bubble but it's not going to be a lion, although that would be SUPER COOL! It took me a while to figure out what her form will be, I essentially took like 20 online quizzes (including the Pottermore one) in character, and used the most common answer...mostly. I dunno my process was weird but it's kind of cool, because once I decided her form, I'm kind of shaping her personality to be similar to it, if that makes sense.**

**Phew ok that was a lot...I can't wait to post the next chapter because SHIT IS GONNA GO DOWNNNN!**


	29. 28th January, 1972

By last night, Remus was barely talking, but this morning, as we went down for breakfast, he looked downright ill. We sat at the Gryffindor table, on the long benches, and Remus rested his cheek against his forearm, leaning against the table.

"Aren't you going to eat?" asked Peter, waving a bit of scone and marmalade at Remus' nose.

"I'm not hungry," mumbled Remus.

I carefully poured tea and pushed it in front of Remus. "Here mate," I said, "I stirred in some honey to perk you up a bit."

Remus wrapped his palms around the cup for its warmth. "Thanks, Sabrina," he muttered, and he leaned close, breathing the heat of the cup.

I looked at James with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, _see how miserable he is? Coincidence? I THINK NOT!_ James looked nervously down at his toast. Sirius turned to Remus as well. "Are you, uh, going anywhere tonight?" Sirius asked as casually as he could manage.

I glared daggers at Sirius. It would have been less obvious if he had gone _you look a bit furry 'round the ears, mate!_

Remus looked up.

Peter was stuffing his face with a bowl of fruit chunks and the crunching of fruit in his teeth seemed rather loud suddenly as Remus stared across the table at Sirius.

"It's just that this is usually about the time of the month that you go home or… er… wherever it is you go," Sirius said, attempting to recover.

Remus clearly didn't know what to say in reply and silence stretched between them, the two boys staring at each other across the house table. As the moments passed, the silence grew heavier and James and I glanced between Sirius and Remus expectantly.

Unable to take the weight of it any longer, James suddenly cut in rather loudly, "What if we used that tap-dancing spell we learned in Charms on the dinner plates? Huh? Picture everyone's face!"

Sirius looked at James, and, the stare-down broken, Remus took the opportunity to avoid answering the question and quickly dove under the table for his book bag. "Speaking of Charms, I've still got a spot of homework. I'll see you." He leaped from the table and rushed out of the Hall before any of us could say another word.

"Good one, James," said Sirius, frowning after Remus' retreating back.

"What was that about?" Peter asked, confused.

James shrugged, "He didn't look happy about you asking."

"Guys? What was that all about?" Peter asked again.

"You know, I have a spot of homework too," I declared, snarfing down the last of my breakfast and rushing off after Remus, ignoring the anxious look on Sirius' as I ran out of the Hall after him.

"Just please be careful about it, will you?" James called.

I wasn't sure what I was planning on saying or doing, but I knew I needed to talk to Remus and get everything out in the open. I didn't like having secrets, and I didn't like the feeling that maybe Remus needed somebody to unload upon. I thought of Sirius, and how better he likely felt after confessing all of his family baggage to me, and I felt Remus needed that, too. I wanted to be the one to be there for him, I just didn't know how to go about doing it.

Remus was halfway up the staircase when I caught up, quite breathless. He glanced over at me and looked quite anxious about my pursuit. Remus balled his fists and continued walking without greeting me. I followed along at his side. We were halfway up to Gryffindor Tower before I said, in as casual a tone as I could muster, "Full moon tonight."

Remus stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me. "So?"

"I know," I whispered.

Remus' eyes widened and he looked up and down the corridor. Quickly, he lunged forward and grabbed me by the arm. Even though we were roughly the same size, he pulled me into an empty classroom along the corridor, kicking the door shut behind him. "Who told you?" he demanded.

I shook my head, "Nobody! I figured it out."

Remus looked even paler than he had in the Great Hall, if that was possible. He paced, nervousness radiating off him. I watched him walk, wringing his hands and muttering to himself softly. "What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do…"

I said, "I just wanted you to know that I'm-"

Remus whirled around. "Please," he begged thickly, "Sabrina, please, don't tell anybody else. You don't know how much the wizarding world hates wer-... people in my situation. I can't go back to not having any friends, or any future, I can't. I'll go mad and-"

"Well I already told-"

"NO!" Remus looked quite devastated, and I felt terrible.

"-James and Sirius," I finished. Then, in a rush, "Only because I wanted a second opinion! I didn't want to accuse you and be wrong and anyways they're alright with it, Re, and so am I! We aren't going to tell anybody else! We just didn't want you to have to go on hiding everything from us! We're your friends, Remus! This isn't something you should have to go at alone!"

Remus was frozen in place, his wide, pleading eyes searching mine for any sign of betrayal. He trembled.

My voice lowered. "Remus, we don't give a damn if you're a werewolf, okay?"

Remus' voice shook, "Of course you give a damn if I am," he said.

"We don't," I replied, "Just as much as you don't give a damn that I'm a Muggleborn or any of that. It's just… just a label. It doesn't matter what you are, it's who you are we care about."

Remus looked down at his trainers, "That's because you've never seen it… what I become."

"I wouldn't give a damn even if I did," I argued.

"You _would_, though," Remus shook his head, "Even my parents give a damn then."

I sighed, "Remus, we aren't your parents, or anyone else that's judged you for it before. You can talk to us, mate, we're here for you. Really. I mean it. We want to - to support you."

Remus turned away.

Silence filled the classroom and outside we could hear students in the corridors, headed back from lunch. I took as step toward Remus, "If you wanna talk-"

"I don't," answered Remus, and he hurried from the room.

I stood in my place in shock, before guilt began to creep into my heart. I can't even imagine the panic and anxiety that is going through his mind.

I was broken out of my thoughts by shouting in the hallway. Or at least, I thought it was in the hallway, for when I left the classroom, the noise turned out to be half a corridor away. I ran down to see what all the racket was about, as there was not only a great lot of shouting, but banging as well.

Once I turned the corner, my eyes widened in shock. Lucius Malfoy and Bilius Weasley were duelling! There were advanced hexes flying back and forth. Blood was seeping out of Bilius' eye, and Malfoy's robes were all torn up. They both had sweat dripping from their foreheads in concentration, it was sickening. As I ran away, I saw Frank Longbottom dragging Madam Pomfrey along, and the two broke up the fight. It was then I turned and ran up to Gryffindor Tower, reeling not only from my confrontation with Remus, but at the fight that I had just witnessed.

I was ready to collapse by the time I reached the boys' dorm. Remus, Sirius and James were gathering their Herbology things. Thankfully I had already put my things in my schoolbag this morning, or I'd likely be late. Remus gave me a terrified look, as if McGonagall was going to be behind me with expulsion papers.

"There's been a fight, downstairs, in the Defense Hall. Lucius Malfoy and Bilius Weasley!" I panted out.

"What?!" All three boys asked at once.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "Dunno what about but they're both heading to the Hospital Wing now! I saw Pomfrey levitating them up!"

"What did Tutman say?" asked Remus. I sighed in relief that he was speaking to me.

"Tutman wasn't there," I replied. "Pomfrey only came because Frank Longbottom spotted it and ran to get her. It was a mess!"

"Tutman wasn't there? A fight in his wing and he wasn't there? That's odd," said Remus.

"I thought so, too," I replied, "But he wasn't there!"

"Was it a quiet fight?" asked James, "I've heard some of the sixth and seventh years can do silent spells now… Perhaps…?"

"Oh no, definitely not! I could hear them half a corridor away, that's how I found out! I ran down to see what all the racket was about. They were both a right mess, but Lucius looked a bit worse. I reckon Bilius won."

Remus shook his head, "He's a Prefect! He ought not to be fighting!"

"Well I'm betting Malfoy started it," said James.

I nodded, "He's always awful to Bilius. _And_ Malfoy's Head Boy!"

"There's your answer mate - he's a Slytherin!" barked Sirius.

"I'd like to know what they were fighting over," said Remus, "And what Tutman was doing ignoring a fight in his hall."

"I'd like to know what Malfoy was doing in the Defense Hall at this hour!" Sirius said. "They ought to be in the dungeons for Potions - him and Bilius too, actually."

James furrowed his eyebrows, "You're right! Weird!"

I nodded, mulling the thoughts over in my head.

"Speaking of, we ought to be in the greenhouses by now for Herbology," said James. "Let's go, we can talk on the way."

James rushed out, clutching his dragon-hide gloves and book and Sirius followed. Sirius looked at Remus from the hall, "You coming?"

He shook his head, "I'll catch up," he said.

I went to the door, pausing in the frame to look back as James and Sirius thundered down the stairs ahead of me. "Stay safe, alright?"

Remus nodded and gave a weak smile.

"Bye," I said, before clambering down the stairs.

"So what happened with you and Lupin?" Sirius asked me as the three of us headed down to the greenhouses. He kept glancing back to be sure Remus wasn't following along behind us, and I understood why. These questions could anger him. "Did you, er, find out the truth about you-know-what?"

I nodded, "Yeah. He seemed really… anxious."

"Well, I mean. Wouldn't you, being asked if you were a-" James stopped mid-sentence, "er, thing?

Sirius shrugged, "Sure. But it's not like we're going to _tell_ anyone or that anything changes between us, right?"

I sighed, "I just feel really bad for him. I wish there was more we could do for him, like a way to make it easier."

James laughed, darkly "Make it easier being a werewolf? Are you mental? If we went any place _near_ him when he'd changed the only thing we'd make _easier_ is being a snack he doesn't have to hunt for!"

We went on down to the greenhouse and joined Peter at the table by the window that he'd saved for us. I gave the boy a high-five to lift his spirits, which thankfully worked. After class, only Peter was surprised that Remus wasn't at dinner or up in the Gryffindor common room.

When I went to bed, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, laying in my bed, watching the full moon out the high windows of Gryffindor Tower. I wondered where Remus was, and if he was safe and warm out there in the cold winter night.


	30. 30th January, 1972 (Part 1)

Remus looked a mess when he returned two days later, worse than usual. The four of us were in the common room, along with half of Gryffindor house, when Remus stumbled through the portrait hole. He was obviously taking great care in attempting to be quiet but his steps were wobbly, and he very nearly fell over. Sirius leaped to his feet to grab hold of him and hoist him up, as did James on the other side. As the other Gryffindors looked on with a sort of wide-eyed fascination, the pair of them hastened to bring Remus up to the dorm, with Peter and I scrambling after them.

Upstairs, James followed Sirius' lead in helping Remus into pyjamas. I turned around to face the wall as they undressed him. "What happened?" I heard Sirius ask in concern.

Once I turned around, my eyes widened in horror. There were cuts and bruises all over Remus' legs and arms. I hadn't noticed before the silver-pink glare of scars that marked Remus' skin, but seeing him like this, I realised there were many. Blood oozed thickly from a cut across Remus' temple. "We need to bring him to Madam Pomfrey," I said worriedly.

Peter was staring, wide-eyed from his bed, "Was there a fight?" he asked. But none of us answered him.

"Pomfrey can't help, she can't heal werewolf bites," muttered Remus weakly. He was shaking so hard he couldn't button his pyjama top, so Sirius quickly did the buttons up for him.

"Werewolf bites?!" Peter's voice was shrill, "That's a werewolf bite?!"

James' voice trembled, "You - er - you saw another… one?"

I look horrified, "Were you attacked?" I rushed to Remus' side.

Remus shook his head as he struggled into bed, "In a manner of speaking, I s'pose… I attacked myself." He couldn't fix the blankets, so I did it, tucking them 'round him carefully.

"You're a - a - a - werewolf?" Peter stammered, voice shaking with nerves. "But you - you shouldn't be in school - the law-"

Remus gently touched the cut by his temple and winced at the pain of it. "I know all about the laws, Peter, as they're to blame for my condition in the first place."

"But you're dangerous!" Peter squealed, "An XXXXX rated magical creature, according to _Fantastic Beasts!_"

Remus stared down at his hands, the tips of his fingers bloody from touching the cut, as Peter said this and I spotted a tear glimmering in the corner of Remus' eye.

"Shut up, Peter," said Sirius.

"But he could bite any one of us!" Peter said, frenzied.

"Peter! Shut _up!_" I yelled, grabbing the boy by the collar and slamming him against the wall. I don't exactly know what came of me, but I know I'd never be able to have the strength to do that normally. Must've been the adrenaline. Peter was trembling and blubbering.

I heard Remus begin to cry behind me. "Oi, see what you've done?" I let go of Peter and pointed to our suffering friend.

James went to the water pitcher on the table by the door and dipped a handkerchief from his desk drawer into the water. Carefully, he turned back to Remus and gently pressed it to the cut on the side of his face. Remus tilted his head up so James could clean the wound.

"Why did you attack yourself?" Sirius asked.

Remus said, "It's just a part of it. There's just so much violent energy and it's got to be spent off some way, and I'm alone out there. If a werewolf has no distraction, he'll attack himself."

"Doesn't it hurt?" I asked, "Why wouldn't you just stop when it hurts?"

"Yes, but rationality isn't exactly a werewolf's strongest attribute, you know," replied Remus.

James had wiped the blood off Remus' face as best he could and he put the cloth down on the nightstand. Peter looked at it with disgust and a bit of fear, crawling backward, away from it, as though the cloth itself was diseased. I looked over at him with an expression of distaste, I couldn't believe how awful he was acting!

"I still don't understand," Peter stammered from the farthest corner of his bed, "How are you at Hogwarts! Werewolves aren't allowed at the school."

"Dumbledore made special arrangements," explained Remus.

Peter shook his head, "It wouldn't be up to only Dumbledore, though. It has to be a legal matter, the Ministry would never allow it. They'd see your name on the registry and-"

"I'm unregistered," answered Remus. I wasn't even aware there was a Werewolf Registry.

"But the law! Newt Scamander passed it in the 40s! We learned about it in History of Magic!" Peter cried, fearfully, "You have to register!"

I scoffed, "Hours of you snoozing in History of Magic, Peter, and _that's_ the one thing you actually remember?"

"My father didn't register me," Remus replied rather numbly.

"But he's a ministry official!" Peter argued, "He should know better!"

"He wanted a better life for me than what the law allows!" Remus said, "He didn't understand - he didn't know - what it was like to - to live with Lycanthropy before. He tried to repeal the act but it didn't work, alright? He wanted better for me but I'm bloody well not any better for it, am I?" Remus' voice was hot with passion, "I'm just a freak and everyone ought to be afraid of me, the awful terrible werewolf, ought to be exiled! Ought not to be allowed to have friends or anybody who cares about me, huh?" Tears stung his eyes.

"I'm just… I… you just... " stammered Peter, "It isn't safe!"

"Forget it!" Remus shouted, "Just forget it. Go tell everybody in the school if you want to, I don't give a damn!"

Peter fell backwards off his bed, then scrambled for the door. James hastened to grab Peter's arm to stop him. "We aren't telling anybody!" said James harshly, glowering at Peter, "And if you know what's good for you, neither will you."

"Yeah, Remus," Sirius said. "We aren't going to tell anybody."

Peter struggled against James' grip. "But he's a _werewolf_," he whined in a small voice.

"Nothing's changed," I said, "If Remus was going to attack us, he would've done it by now, wouldn't he? He's been a werewolf all along and you haven't been attacked yet!"

"But you can catch it, I heard, just by being near-" he looked at Remus apologetically, "-one."

"Rubbish!" exclaimed Sirius. "Right?" he added, turning to Remus.

Remus nodded, "You have to be bitten by a werewolf on a full moon. He has to be turned, and the bite needs to be quite deep or the venom won't take. More people die of werewolf bites than are turned…"

"That last bit might not be helpful in calming him down, mate," said James.

I sighed. "The point is, Peter, he's not putting any of us in danger being here. Dumbledore's in on it! You'd have to be daft to think Dumbledore didn't think it all through and how exactly how to keep everybody safe! Right Remus? You wouldn't hurt any of us, right?"

Remus said, "If I ever hurt anybody, I - wouldn't be able to live with myself ever again." he frowned deeply. "It's my greatest fear, what I am, what I become."

Peter relaxed in pulling toward the door and James let him go. The five of us sat there 'round the dormitory in silence for a moment. "Hang on," Peter said suddenly, looking up, "Is that why you've been disappearing every month? To go change into a werewolf?" his eyes were wide.

"Yeah," Remus answered. "Dumbledore has a safe place I can go, where I can't get back to hurt anybody, and it's worked alright. It's lonely, but that's better than hurting someone."

Peter nodded.

"Is it scary?" I asked.

"Remus shrugged, "Before I understood what it was that was happening, when I was small, it was scarier then. I know what to expect now, know what's going on. It's just… well, it hurts. A lot."

"I'd think so, look at those cuts and bruises you've got!" said Sirius.

Remus shook his head, "Not even including them, the actual turning hurts. It's murder! You get all rigid and your spine changes. Your bones feel all jelly-like and they start stretching in ways they shouldn't, and your skin gets bubbly as the hair grows out and… it's quite horrible."

James was pulling a face from his seat on the floor. "Sounds horrible!" he agreed.

"And that isn't even the worst of it… the worst is when you lose your mind." Remus' eyes were unfocused, and he started blankly at the foot of his bed, utterly sad. "You just forget who you are and you feel all… all empty and you're so angry and lost that the only thing left to feel is hatred and violence."

Sirius shook his head, "Sounds like a dementor."

"Dementor?" I asked, "What's that?"

"Guards at Azkaban, the wizarding prison. They're awful. Like great black ghosts, like death himself, and they suck all the happiness out of you," Sirius replied. "My cousins used to tell ghost stories about them at family reunions. To scare the younger kids. They thought it was right funny, giving us all nightmares." Sirius shook his head.

"They suck happiness out?" Peter asked, his voice awestruck and wobbly with fear. "How?"

"It's how they eat," replied Sirius. And suddenly it seemed as though he was launching into a ghost story himself. He got up from where he'd been sitting, perched on Remus' desk chair, and waved his fingers menacingly as he approached Peter, arms raised up over his head, "They glide through the night, silent as your breath, their cloaks rippling through the dark… they get up real close to you," he was leaning within an inch of Peter's face, "And then they inhale it in…" Sirius took a deep, rattling breath, "...pull it right out of you…" another deep breath, staring right into Peter's eyes, "And, if you've been sentenced for the ultimate punishment, they'll kiss you."

"K-k-kiss me?" Peter whimpered.

"Come off it, Sirius, we gotta sleep in the same room as him," James said, pulling Sirius back by his robes, "Don't scare him, he'll be up all bloody night."

"Yeah, they'll kiss you," Sirius said darkly, backing off of Peter and returning to his perch on the desk char.

"There's no dementors here," Remus said to Peter, "They aren't going to kiss you?"

I instinctively hugged a pillow. I was more curious than scared, though, "What happens to you if they do kiss you, though? Does it kill you?" I looked to Sirius for an answer.

"Worse," Sirius said.

"Worse?" gasped Peter.

"Oi, Black, it's you who's sopping up Peter's bedclothes after he's soiled them if you keep it up," warned James.

"A dementor's kiss sucks out your soul," Sirius finished dramatically.

"Sucks out my soul, woah…" muttered Peter under his breath, quite terrified-looking.

Sirius tipped the chair back so it leaned on only two feet and plopped his legs up on the end of Remus' bed. "Like they say, though, Peter, there's no dementors 'round here. They'd never allow them at Hogwarts. They only go for the really bad guys, they're under ministry control off at Azkaban. You've got nothing to worry about." He waved his hand at Peter dismissively.

Remus shook his head.

"Just was saying that's what changing to a werewolf sounds like to me," Sirius finished.

"Or like being imperiused," James agreed.

I looked at James now. "What's that mean?"

James turned to me, "It's being under the Imperius Curse. It's forbidden magic, where the user can make people do their bidding. It's like mind control or possession, sort of. It's mighty hard to shake off, too, even powerful wizards have loads of trouble."

I shuddered. Remus, who'd been about to take a sip of water, choked quite loudly and spluttered water all over. The four of us looked up at him, worried. "Imperiused! That reminds me! Blimey, how could I have forgotten? I talked to Bilius the other day, before I left, and he was telling me about his fight with Malfoy… he reckons Malfoy's been imperiusing Tutman!"

Remus explained the whole story as to how Bilius and Derek had come to that conclusion - frequently punctuated by outbursts of shock and awe from Sirius. When he finished, we all sat quietly for a moment, and I considered what these new revelations meant. I looked 'round at my friends. "Should we tell McGonagall or Dumbledore what we know?" I asked.

"Bilius says he's tried and they think he's bonkers," replied Remus.

"Well what if Malfoy's got a plan to get the Dark Lord here to Hogwarts and Tutman's the key?" James asked.

Remus frowned. "I mean, we don't even know for sure what's going on, I think until there's more evidence they aren't going to take anybody serious about it. If they aren't listening to a sixth year, they'll never listen to first years."

I nodded, "So we need to find out what's in the prefect's toilet."

Sirius nodded, too. "Tonight," he said.

"Hang on, what? You want to go off down to the dungeons tonight? To break into a toilet?" Peter was quite astounded.

James nodded, "With the invisibility cloak."

"We've got to! It's the only way to prove Malfoy is up to something!" Sirius exclaimed.

I looked at Remus, "Are you up to it, though?"

Remus hesitated. "If I rest until then I should be alright," He answered, nodding.

Sirius looked around. "How about you, Peter, are you in or are you out?"

Peter swallowed back his nerves, then, "In," he squeaked nervously. "I'm in."

"Alright," Sirius said. "Then we go to the dungeons tonight."

**Since stuff goes DOWN on this day, I'm chunking it up into multiple parts!**

**Q&A:**

**TheUnderooes asks, "I would like Sabrina to be paired with Remus but Sirius having a crush on her. Everything other is good. Literally my heart almost stopped beating when I saw the heading. It's just a dream coming true!**

**I hate to burst your bubble, but unfortunately no romance will be happening in first year because, well...they're eleven. But I will PROMISE you feelings will start to happen among the group quite early at the beginning of next year! But in terms of ships, I won't reveal anything specific, but I will say you are not 100% off. In terms of the heading, I'm confused as to what "the heading" is. Not on you, I'm just dumb sometimes lol. But thank you so much for your kind words!**

**MyBeewing, the ever-lovely and consistent reviwer says, "So, the cat's out of the bag! (though in this case, the werewolf, really) If I remember well, the Marauders didn't guess until second year, so is "the Animagi timeline" going to change? Even then though, there's something going on with Tutman, so I suppose they won't think about it until second year at the very least. I wonder what Sabrina's nickname will be? Anyway, great chapter, I hope you update soon!**

**Ironically, someone on AO3 asked a very similar question about how the animagi thing will work. Yes, you're correct: in canon, the marauders discovered Remus' furry little problem in second year, and by fifth year they successfully became animagi. My reasoning for making the revelation come sooner is one: to cause extra angst and drama muhahaha, and 2: I always thought that it was a little strange that it took the boys nearly an entire YEAR at least to figure out what his deal was: I mean they were LIVING with him! Also with the inclusion of Sabrina, the world is going to deviate from canon in quite a few ways, so you won't be able to predict how the entire story will play out. For instance: will Peter still betray the Potters? Will Sabrina be paired with someone? Will Jily, Snilly, or even WOLFSTAR happen? I want to keep things fresh. I don't have the specific timelines planned out, but I have a general idea of what major events will be different. For instance, Harry will have a VERY interesting childhood but shhh you didn't hear that from me.**

**Wow I'm rambling, sorry. The animagi timeline will, in fact, be shifted a bit as a result of this. But there is NO animagi stuff in first year, because let's be real, that wouldn't be realistic. The group's priority this year is going to be Tutman-y. In terms of Sabrina's marauders nickname, that's one I'm still mulling on. I've already decided what animal she's going to be, but I'm having LOADS of trouble deciding a nickname that doesn't sound Mary Sue-y. I'm actively working against making Sabrina a Mary Sue, so if she ever seems to get like that I give you all permission to yell at me!**

**Thanks for reading all this,**

**Jedigirl18 ^-^**


	31. 30th January, 1972 (Part 2)

"Oi, watch where you're stepping, Peter!"

"That's my toes now you're on!"

"Ouch… _blimey!_"

The five of us together only just fit beneath the invisibility cloak, especially since Peter was clumsy and kept tripping over us and stepping on our feet. So to an onlooker, we were just a trail of trainers moving on their own. James clutched the cloth, in the lead, squinting through the dark. I was watching ahead for any signs of Peeves, Filch, Mrs. Norris, or any of the teachers, but the corridors were mercifully empty.

We made our way through the stairs, whose revolutions we'd basically memorised by now, and quietly crept along to the top of the staircase leading to the Entrance Hall. Moonlight pooled through the high windows, giving us the ability to see.

Down the grimey steps to the dungeons, we moved as quietly as we could, all huddled together nervously, the dark walls seeming to loom over us. The paintings on the walls down here were of a darker nature than the ones in the higher halls, and their occupants seemed to be watching us, despite the cloak. We passed the Potions classroom, and Slughorn's office and came to the stretch of corridor where Remus had apparently seen Tutman, Malfoy and Snape. We came to a stop, hovering against the wall.

"Alright," whispered James, "Which door is it?"

Remus pointed.

James shrugged out from beneath the cloak and walked over to the prefect's toilet door and pressed his wand to the lock. "_Alohomora!_" His voice seemed loud, even though it was barely above a whisper. Nothing happened. I frowned.

"You need a password for a prefect's toilet," Peter hissed.

Sirius tossed the cloak off of himself as well and hurried over to the door to join James. "It's the Slytherins," he said confidently, "How hard can their password be? They aren't very bright, are they?" He turned to the door. "Snakes! Pureblood!"

"Unlock!" James tried, "Err… password!"

"Slytherin!" Sirius tried, "Slughorn! Er… oh, I remember, from those files we stole from Filch's office! _Salazar_!"

There was a series of clicks. Remus, Peter and I lifted the cloak off ourselves and Remus folded it into his pocket as Peter and I scrambled to join Sirius and James at the door of the prefects' toilet. We stood before it, staring up at the door, excitement rushing through my veins.

"We did it," whispered Sirius.

"Blimey," I mumbled.

"Well," said Remus, voice shaky, "Shall we?"

Sirius nodded and reached for the handle. "Wait," I said. "Wands out. We should be ready in case there's something horrible in there."

"Like the Dark Lord?" asked James, with a slightly nervous air of sarcasm.

"Wh-what good are our wands going to do against… against the D-D-Dark Lord?" Peter quivered.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Well, we have a werewolf, don't we? He hasn't got one of those." He smiled at Remus.

"It's not the full moon, mate," said Remus, "I'm afraid I'd be of little use tonight."

Sirius pushed the door open quite suddenly, sick of the anticipation that was building up already. The door swung open and inside there was utter darkness. He glanced around, then took a timid step forward. "No lanterns," he said, "It's quite dark… I can't see a thing."

"_Lumos_," I said and my wand tip ignited, glowing pale light filling the corners of the toilet.

"Handy," said James, impressed by my execution of one of the first bloody spells we ever learned for some reason.

Sirius waved his wand, "_Lumos_," he mimicked me and his wand lit up, too. The others did as well. The little room was quite bright now and we glanced around. The walls were still dark and plain, a painting of the giant squid eating a ship on black water adorned one wall and a deep, inset bath filled the floor, though it was large enough that it could have been mistaken for a swimming pool. Otherwise, it was an utterly boring, typical-looking toilet. We lowered our wands.

"Nothing," said Remus, confused.

"Maybe they decided not to do whatever it was anymore since you'd caught them," Peter suggested, calming down as he saw there wasn't anything going on in the bathroom.

"Maybe," I said, but I wasn't convinced. I looked to Remus and he too had a look of suspicion. It seemed far more likely that we were missing something, or overlooking it.

We began to walk around the room and looked, waving our wands about.

James was near one of the stalls when he called out, "Look at this!" He was kneeling on the floor in the corner. Sirius and I hurried over to see what James was holding up. It was what looked like a piece of broken mirror glass, which James had picked up from the floor. There was a piece of the same shape missing from the corner of the wall. But the most peculiar thing about it was that as James looked into the piece in his hand, it reflected his face as a normal mirror would, but the wall wasn't reflecting a thing.

I looked up at the wall. "It's a mirror? Why doesn't it reflect?" Sirius asked, voicing my confusion. I took the piece from James' hand and pressed it into the space that was missing it on the wall. It fit perfectly. I looked at the two boys with concern, as well as Remus who had joined us. "Strange…"

I didn't pay attention to Peter stammering frantically behind us.

James touched his palm to the mirror on the wall. "Even when you touch it… nothing. Even glass would reflect this close up."

"Where's the reflection going?" Sirius mused.

A raspy, high voice that was none of our own spoke, seeming to come from the very walls around us. "_Where indeed?_"

I looked up and saw a cloaked figure, whose features were obscured by the darkness his cloak afforded him, staring back at us from the mirror. The four of us jumped back from the mirror quickly, and joined Peter several steps back, all huddled together.

Suddenly the door opened to our side and Lucius Malfoy came in, his cloak and pyjamas waving around his ankles. He was breathless, likely running all the way from the Slytherin common room to get here. He clutched the door frame, panting, and his eyes swept from the reflection in the mirror to us huddled in the middle of the room.

"Get them, you idiot!" The figure in the mirror snapped.

"Yes my Lord!" Lucius shouted as he lept at us.

Thinking fast, James shoved the four of us down and ducked out of the way himself. Peter teetered on the edge of the bath and fell in with a shriek and a splash of water as we sprinted for the hall. Lucius himself just barely caught himself from joining Peter, and rounded quickly to try and catch us in the corridor.

We ran as hard as we could. The only thing on my mind was getting away from Lucius Malfoy before he could catch us. We crossed the Entrance Hall and started up the stairs, trainers squeaking on the stone as we moved through the darkness. I could hear Lucius Malfoy on our heels - and I even found myself ducking red sparks of light as Lucius shot spells at us. I narrowly missed one that I had to skip over as it shot past my ankles.

We dove into the second floor corridor. We need some place to hide! Once we got to the end of the hall, Remus yanked the silvery fabric of the invisibility cloak and threw it over himself, keeping one side raised to catch us as we came 'round the corner. "Guys!" he hissed, "Under here." James, Sirius and I skidded over and ducked beneath the cloak with Remus.

"Where's Peter?" Remus asked.

James looked around, "Dunno," he replied. "I - I thought he was behind us."

I became quite nervous. "Think Malfoy caught him?"

Sirius gnawed his lower lip. "I'm going to find him," Sirius announced. He reached for the edge of the cloak.

"Sirius, don't be stupid!" said James, catching his arm. "You can't, you'll get caught by Malfoy yourself! Merlin knows what he'll do to you. We need to go find Dumbledore."

Sirius' eyes flashed, "Merlin knows what he's doing to Peter right now!" he exclaimed, "By the time we figure out where Dumbledore even is, Peter could be done for."

"He wouldn't _kill_ him," Remus said. "And I know where Dumbledore's office is. It's up on the fifth floor, by the gargoyles. We could go up and get Dumbledore, then go find Malfoy and Peter and-"

"We don't have _time_ to go get Dumbledore!" exclaimed Sirius, "Malfoy could be using the Cruciatus Curse on Peter _right now _and Peter's… Peter couldn't handle that, okay? He's too little and… and… he's afraid of everything… he _needs_ us. We have to go back for him. I have to go back for him. You three can go find Dumbledore."

"Okay, but you aren't going alone," James said. "I'll come with you. Remus, Sabrina, you go find Dumbledore and tell him what's going on. We'll be safer going in pairs."

"Okay," Remus nodded.

"You'd better take the cloak," James chimed in, "You two are going farther, you're more likely to run into Filch and he'll stop you from finding Dumbledore. If we run into Filch, it'll be better because he'll catch Malfoy anyway."

I nodded.

"Just don't let anybody see this cloak… _especially_ Dumbledore," James instructed, "He'll take it away and we need to finish our map."

"We won't," I promised.

James and Sirius ducked out from under the invisibility cloak and ran down the corridor, turning the corner and disappearing from sight. Remus and I each took a deep breath and started along the hallway, careful to keep the invisibility cloak secure. There was a part of me that wished we'd just stayed in our warm beds and never ventured out of the dormitories at all.

Going and investigating what Malfoy was up to suddenly seemed a desperately foolish errand. Malfoy was a _seventh year_, practically an adult, in fact he may have come of age already, if he had a December birthday. We had reason to believe that he was actually working for the darkest wizard in the world, too. There was no way that a bunch of motley first year students were going to take on that kind of power and win. No way at all! And now Peter… little Peter Pettigrew was going to get the blunt end of it. Whatever Peter had said earlier, when we'd been talking about Remus' condition just didn't matter anymore. I'm just worried about my friend.

It wasn't until we reached the corridor on the fifth floor, and saw the gargoyles looming ahead of us in the darkness, that I realised what we were about to do. I've admired Dumbledore ever since the moment I'd first laid eyes on him during the Sorting. He seemed like the type of wizard to let all hell loose when he was angry. I hoped he wouldn't feel that way when we'd told him about sneaking out of bed in the middle of the night, and not just coming to him in the first place.

Remus pulled the invisibility cloak off of us and folded it up. I took a deep breath as he stuck it in his pocket. I looked to Remus, unsure how we pass through the giant stone statue and into the Headmaster's office.

"What do we do now?" I said, knocking on the wall. There was no answer.

"I dunno," Remus replied nervously. "Whenever I've been to his office, I've been escorted. I didn't know there was a special way you had to get in."

A voice to my left startled me. "Password?" It was one of the gargoyles.

Remus and I exchanged a look. "Do you have the password?" the gargoyle repeated.

"I… no, I don't but… but it's an emergency," Remus stammered. "I'm Remus Lupin. Professor Dumbledore - er - he knows me," he added quickly, "He said I could find him if I ever had any trouble." I raised my eyebrows at Remus, and he shrugged.

The gargoyle seemed to hesitate, as if he was considering what Remus said. Then it was like a light went off in the boy's head. "I enjoy a bit of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum!" I looked at Remus with confusion. Was this really the time to be thinking about sweets?

"Well. In that case," The gargoyles suddenly sprang to life and moved out of the way. And as they moved, a door appeared in the wall.

I blinked in surprise. "_That's_ the password?" We hurried past the gargoyles and through the door. I stepped onto the first step of the staircase, and it must be enchanted because it carried us up, up to a landing. We ran for the door and Remus raised his hand to knock but before he could, the door opened and there, in the frame, was Albus Dumbledore.

"Mister Lupin, Miss Stratford," he said, peering down at us through his half-moon spectacles.

"Professor," Remus said hurriedly, "There's… there's been a-"

"What are you two doing out of bed?" Dumbledore asked.

Remus was having trouble talking so I interrupted him, my words spewing out in a panic. "Professor, it's a long story, but… well, Sirius, James, Remus, Peter and I, we had a… a hunch… and… well, we had to go and investigate… just come quickly." I boldly grabbed hold of the headmaster's hand and pulled him toward the stairwell.

To Dumbledore's credit, he didn't hesitate nor ask any further questions. He simply followed.

As we were heading back down to the dungeons, I heard a voice in the distance. It sounded like Filch! "Lucky, you are, that Dumbledore took away the old punishments… I'd string you up and cane you if I could…"

As if he was making a dramatic entrance, Dumbledore spoke before we had even fully come down the stairs. "Nobody will be strung up and beaten tonight, Mister Filch."

Once we rounded the corner, all eyes were on Dumbledore, Remus and I. Filch was holding onto James and Sirius, with Malfoy and Snape gripping onto Peter. All six of them looked equally surprised.

"Students caught out of bed, sir," Filch said eagerly.

"Nevertheless, there is no need to manhandle students," Dumbledore said. Reluctantly, Filch let go of Sirius' arm. Sirius glowered up at him and rubbed the spot Filch's hand had clutched him. Behind them, Malfoy and Snape both released Peter, equally reluctantly. Dumbledore smiled, "Very good. Now, let us go and have a seat and figure out what exactly is going on this evening, shall we?" he waved up toward the Great Hall, and we all shuffled into the empty room, the enchanted ceiling glowing with magically-reflected star and moon lights overhead.

We all took a seat facing one another across the nearest table, Ravenclaw's house table. Dumbledore magicked a chintz chair and settled himself down at the head of the table where we were all sitting. "Tea?" he asked, and before anyone could answer - not that anyone was about to - he waved his wand and nine tea cups appeared before us. Dumbledore smiled benignly, lifting his cup to his mouth and looked about. "So," he said, "Who is going to explain why so many students are out of bed at such an hour?"

"Disrespect!" Filch sneered, "No fear of punishment! Thinking they can get away with doing whatever they like…" he glared at us, and I sent a sneer his way. We wouldn't just be taking random midnight strolls, we had a mission!

Dumbledore rubbed his fingertips together. "Perhaps."

"I heard quite a lot of noise in the hallway outside of the Slytherin common room," Malfoy said in a commanding voice, "And, being Head Boy..."

"... more like Huge Bighead," I mumbled.

"...I thought it my duty to enforce the rules of the castle and I went, expecting to find Slytherin students, to collect the offenders and found these first years…"

James exploded, "That's a lie!"

"Yeah! He _summoned_ you," Sirius snapped.

Malfoy's eyes flickered ever so slightly as he looked at the two of them. "I haven't any idea what you're talking about."

"The Dark Lord!" Sirius exclaimed.

Dumbledore looked mildly surprised, pressing his steepled hands to his lips as he looked over the eight of us seated 'round the end of the table. "Let us not assign titles like 'Lord' to those who have not earned them," he said. "The man to whom you are referring calls himself Voldemort these days. We shall use that name for him in this school."

"Well, Voldemort, then," Sirius said, wanting to get to the point. "Malfoy's a Death Eater! He works for Voldemort!"

Malfoy chuckled, eyeing him darkly, "My, my, how quickly we'll turn on even _blood_ in the name of getting out of trouble." he turned back to Dumbledore. "This is, of course, absurd."

"Indeed," mumbled Dumbledore, but his expression seemed grim.

"These four students were out of bounds, out of their dorms, in the middle of the night, sneaking 'round the Slytherin halls," Lucius said hotly, "Doing Merlin knows what… they're known bullies," he added. "They've antagonised Severus since the first day of term."

"He's bullied us back," muttered Sirius hotly.

"Bollocks!" Severus snapped. "I haven't bullied you!"

"You have!" James yelped, "Turned Lily against us, too, haven't you?"

"Don't talk about my Lily! You don't even _know_ her!" Severus snapped.

"She doesn't _belong_ to you!" I said, "She isn't your house elf, which is how you seem to treat her."

Sirius scoffed, "Sabrina, please, Severus doesn't have any clue how a house elf is treated. His family's too _poor _to have one."

"See?!" shouted Severus, pointing, "Always that lot that starts it!"

And quite suddenly, Severus, James and Sirius and I were all shouting at once at one another, arguing about who had started what and when.

Dumbledore stood up, "Enough." We all shut up immediately. "I am led to believe that everyone at this table is guilty of exactly the same thing: being out of bed at a late hour, and," Dumbledore held up his hand to stop Sirius from interrupting him, "- I don't think I am getting a full story from any of you. Just a lot of finger-pointing across this table. I believe that we need to be careful of the accusations that we pass, and keep in mind that when we point a finger at someone else, there are four others pointing it back at ourselves. Now, for tonight, I say that we shall all go to bed and trust that I shall be looking into the things we have discussed here tonight… and keeping an eye on each of you. I recommend that we follow the rules that have been set at this school, and respect them."

Filch's voice was panicked. "What? No punishment?"

"Not tonight, Mister Filch, I am very sorry to inform you," Dumbledore said. "Now, please, Mister Filch, if you will see Severus and Lucius to the Slytherin dungeons, I will bring Remus, Sabrina, James, Peter and Sirius to Gryffindor tower."

Filch looked rather depressed. "Yes, headmaster," he muttered.

"Very good," Dumbledore said brightly, "Pip, pip, then." he waved his wand and the tea cups and chair he'd been sitting in disappeared with a pop. He then began leading us shuffling Gryffindors up the stairs as Filch muttered under his breath, leading Lucius and Severus down into the dungeons.

"Come along," Dumbledore said to us, "Off to bed, to dream dreams and rest our minds."

We trudged along. As we climbed the stairs through the castle, all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, I wondered how we could convince Dumbledore of what we'd found out. It was at the portrait of the Fat Lady, as the other four were climbing through, that I turned back to the headmaster. "He's in the mirror somehow," I said.

Dumbledore looked mildly interested, so I continued. "Voldemort, I mean. In the prefect's toilet. We saw him. Somehow the mirror doesn't reflect what's in front of it, but something else. Sirius has a piece that broke off from it." I paused. "I don't know," I added guiltily, "We just wanted to check it out. Bilius Weasley was suspicious, too. He thought Professor Tutman might be… might be imperiused. By Malfoy. I'm sorry, sir."

Dumbledore nodded. "I appreciate you telling me the truth, Sabrina," he said. "And as I said downstairs, I will look into this. But, in the future, it would be advisable to share your suspicions with me first… rather than investigating the matter yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," I nodded.

Dumbledore eyed me for a moment, then sighed and straightened his spectacles. "Very well. To bed with you, then."

"Goodnight, sir," I said.

"Goodnight," Dumbledore said.

I disappeared through the portrait hole into the common room.

**Q&A:**

**SummerTheSlytherinApricot says, "****omg, I love this. I always get excited when it's updated ahahhahahha. I ship Sirius and Sabrina. I feel like they work better. Remus and Sabrina could also work however I think that Sabrina and Sirius can be caring, shy, mischievous and loud at times and that they would be the most comfortable together. Also, I love Tonks and Remus together. Love my main boy Teddy. For some reason I see Sabrina dying around the same time James and Lily died in the books and that James and Lily would also die because i still see the Harry Potter books happening the same way even if there was an extra marauder. I might be wrong though ahahah. ooooooooooo what will Sabrina's marauder name be? Maybe it will come when they can successfully transform into animagi. yay im excited"**

**I think it's hilarious that you guys are shipping Sabrina with various characters. I just hope I can make you guys all happy with the direction I'm planning on taking! I'm trying to put motives behind why each character thinks or behaves the way they do, and I feel like that will be paramount when it comes to romance, since ships are such a delicate thing and easy to do horribly wrong. I also LOVE Tonks and Remus together, even though I also like Wolfstar, I'm a conflicted soul! Teddy does indeed ROCK! He and James Sirius Potter are my favs of their generation.**

**In terms of if/when Sabrina will die, of course I won't reveal anything, but I do have her entire rough story planned, MUHAHAHA. I will say some plot points will be the same as canon, and some will be completely different.**

**What will Sabrina's marauder name be? GOOD QUESTION IVE NO CLUE MARAUDER NAMES ARE SO HARDDDDD. Lol wish me luck on that one. Thankfully I've already chosen what animal she'll be, but STILL it's difficult! But yes, her name won't be revealed until way into the animagus storyline. Glad to see you're excited, I am too! I love writing this story so much it's honestly helping me through the quarantine. My area is the most dangerous place in my country right now, so let's just say I haven't left the house since last Friday, and I've got about two months worth of food in my pantry at the moment. FUN.**


	32. 31st January, 1st7th February, 1972

**_31st January, 1972_**

This morning, the Great Hall was abuzz with the news that all Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled. The boys and I exchanged ominous, but knowing glances.

"But _why?_" James asked Bilius, incredulously, "Not that I'm complaining about getting some time off, but… why's it been cancelled, do you know?"

Bilius shrugged, "Apparently Tutman's gone," he replied. "Don't know any details, though, mate. Sorry." He looked at Remus with meaningfully raised eyebrows, then turned and walked on down the table to join Derek and the other Quidditch team players.

"Obviously this has something to do with what happened last night," Sirius said, taking the words right out of my mouth. "Dumbledore must've found out what's gone on!"

"Wonder when we'll have a new Defense teacher." I wondered, staring up at the staff table.

"I hope whoever it is doesn't know about that essay Tutman assigned us last week, I haven't had time to finish it!" Peter said.

We ate quickly, then hurried out to the Entrance Hall, planning on waiting around until Dumbledore came out to inquire of him what happened with Tutman. But before Dumbledore got up from the staff table, Lucius Malfoy sauntered up from the dungeons for a late breakfast, his face looking a bit peaky. He glowered at us, "What're you doing, lurking about in the Entrance Hall?" he demanded, "Oughtn't you be in class?" _Is that even a word?_

Sirius' mouth twisted in a wicked smirk, "Well, it seems, _Lucius_, that our class has been cancelled due to the fact that Professor Tutman's been sent off by Dumbledore so _you_ can't imperius him anymore. Or didn't you hear the news yet?"

James smirked too, and I gave Sirius a slick high-five.

Lucius' face didn't twitch in the least. He allowed us to have our moment of congratulations, and then, in a very calm voice, he replied, "Sent off by Dumbledore? Gracious, no. Professor Tutman had a family emergency, you see. Had to go home right away. Most inconvenient time, of course, with the _accusations_ you lot have made… but you can't control emergencies, can you?"

"Apparently _you_ can," I growled.

Lucius' mouth thinned into the tightest of smiles. "I'd watch myself, if I were you," he said, his voice low. He turned and started into the Great Hall, then stopped at the doorway, turning back, his eyes twinkling. "Actually… you know what, I'll have five points each from Gryffindor for your cheeky attitudes, Stratford and Black. It would do you some good to learn some respect."

I growled in frustration as Lucius disappeared into the Hall, and Sirius muttered something quite rude and colourful.

"Now, now," Remus said, shaking his head, "No need for language like that."

We hung around in the Entrance Hall a bit longer, despite Lucius' explanation for Tutman's disappearance, until Professor McGonagall came out and sent us to the common room. "But we aren't causing any trouble here," argued James.

"And all the more likely you are not to start if you're where you ought to be!" she said, waving us off up the stairs.

We laid about in the common room with our homework by the fire, though not much homework got done except by Remus, whose nose seemed quite firmly planted in his Charms book no matter how frequently James and I tried to distract him by zooming bewitched objects about his head, claiming to be practising the spell.

"You had that spell down by the second week of school," Remus said, catching a zooming quill from midair. "Perhaps you should practise another one."

I grinned and snickered at his sass.

Sirius was laying on his back on the floor, his feet up on the chair beside Peter, who was nervously muttering to himself as he scribbled notes from his Astronomy book. "I can't believe Lucius is going to get away with it," he said for what seemed like the hundredth time since we'd settled in. He was staring at the fire, his mouth twisted in a scowl

"Dumbledore is smart," Remus said, tossing the captured quill back to me, "I'm sure he knows what's going on more than we do."

"Yeah, couldn't be more obvious the only reason Tutman's left is because Malfoy's made him go so he can get out of being caught," I agreed.

Sirius was still frowning, "I s'pose," he sighed.

**_1st February, 1972_**

The rumours had spread all over the school about where Tutman had gone, explaining the teacher's absence with everything from a nasty case of Dragon Pox to a death in his family back in Egypt. Bilius came into the common room tonight chuckling to himself. "You lot hear the latest?" he asked, as we were working on a diagram for Herbology. "Apparently, Tutman's gone and joined a rock band." A smirk danced on his mouth.

"A _rock band?_" James scoffed, "What's he want to go and do that for?"

"Dunno," replied Bilius with a grin, "But that's what this crazy Ravenclaw bloke's been passing 'round all day."

Derek rolled his eyes, having come over with Bilius to talk to us, "Can't trust a damned thing Xeno says," he inserted, "Bloody mental, that one is." He smirked, then ducked around Bilius to go talk to Alice and Lily, who'd just come in the door behind him.

Bilius shrugged, "Just as likely as any other reason that's gone 'round." He smirked and tipped an imaginary hat to us, before turning to join Derek with the others.

**_7th February, 1972_**

By now, the talk around the school was that Dumbledore had found a replacement for Tutman to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, at least until Tutman's personal matters were in order and he could return to Hogwarts. However, there had been no formal introduction at dinner the night before, so no one was sure who this new teacher would be. Not even Bilius had a clue, despite being a prefect, and there were no new members at the staff table, filling the recently vacated seat in the morning at breakfast. "Maybe it's just McGonagall or somebody stepping in," suggested Derek over his bowl of oats in the morning.

"McGonagall?" laughed Peter, "What's McGonagall know about Defense Against the Dark Arts? Transfiguration's got nothing to do with that!"

"Doesn't mean she's not bloody brilliant," answered Bilius, looking 'round at Peter, "McGonagall could probably teach every subject under this roof single-handedly if she wanted to."

Peter looked abashed.

"You lot will be the first class to actually know what's going on with the Defense teacher," Derek said, waving at the five of us, and nodding towards Lily down the other end of the table. "You'll have to report back, let us know what's what."

"That's right!" Sirius said, quite excitedly. "Brilliant!"

Eager to be the first class to find out, the five of us rushed through our breakfasts and ran up the stairs to the classroom, breathless as we reached the corridor. We'd even beat Lily there for the first time in the whole term. We clustered around the door and I pressed my ear against it to see if there was any sort of preparation going on inside.

"Do you hear anything?" James asked.

"Not a bloody thing," I replied, keeping pressed firmly against the door.

Lily came up after a few minutes, trailed by Alice Bell, who was headed to Charms first but was hoping for a glance at the new teacher, and they stood at the end of the hall, talking.

Peter and Sirius listened against the door, too, crouching below me. "I don't hear anything either," Peter announced.

"And you bloody won't if you keep yammering," Sirius snapped rudely.

There was a gasp of surprise from Lily and Alice at the end of the hall. I looked up just as a youngish-looking man with wild blond hair and an eye patch came around the corner, breezing by the two girls with long, old-fashioned robes that flew behind him as he walked with a fast gait. He nudged Sirius, Peter and I, and we jumped back from the door as the man came closer, eying us with his one good eye, and pushed open the door.

We looked at each other in apprehension.

"Well? Are you coming in or are you starting a club out in the hallway?" called a rough voice from within.

The man had been breaking the chalk that lined the lip of the blackboard, snapping the pieces into little nubs and making a pile of them at one end. Now that we were all in and seated, he cleared his throat, dusted off his hands, and turned around. He looked us over, a frown on his face. His uncovered eye roved over us quickly, then zeroed in on Remus. "You're Lyall Lupin's kid," he said. It wasn't really a question, but Remus nodded. The man's eye swivelled then to Sirius. "And you. You're one of the Black boys."

"Yes, sir," Sirius said.

"Well then. Your parents must be… very proud, I'm sure," he mused. Then, with a nod, and not another word on the topic of identities, he turned away, walking across the room to the open windows. He seemed lost in a daydream as he stood there for several long moments, his arms folded across his chest, fingers rapping against his elbow. We looked at one another uncomfortably as he seemed to have forgotten we were there are all. Then, suddenly, still staring outside, he quietly muttered, "Constant vigilance."

I could tell the others were just as confused as I was by the expressions on their faces.

The man took another long moment of staring out at the grounds before turning back to face us. "Write that down," he said. He magicked the shutters closed on the window and with a click a little brass hook held them fast. "CONSTANT vigilance." He roared the first word.

There was a hurried scratching of our quills on parchment. I underlined the phrase twice to remind myself of the emphasis the man had put into the words.

"What's the best way to deflect Dark Magic? By _expecting_ it. Always. Knowing at any moment you could fall prey to it. These are dark times, dark arts are being practised all around. Your defenses are useless unless you are prepared and ready to face them. Keep your eyes shut… _you're dead_." The man walked swiftly back across the room to the chalkboard, snatched the chalk from where it hovered in front of the board and scrawled messily _CONSTANT VIGILANCE_ across the slate. He circled it. "Everyone asks me how I have done it, staying alive in a job I've got, and this…" he rapped the board with his knuckles, "... is the only difference between myself and any other wizard. Anyone who does not stay constantly upon his toes is apt to fall prey to the wizard that calls himself the Dark Lord and his followers. You're likely to be killed. Cursed! Fed poison! Blasted to bits! Plenty of ways to end up dead."

I was leaning back in my chair, eyes wide. His roughness was startling and his attitude terrifying. The way he was making it, there were dangers all around, lurking in the very corridors of Hogwarts… I thought of Lucius Malfoy and the mirror with Voldemort and I shuddered.

Remus timidly raised his hand.

"What?" the man asked gruffly.

Remus looked like he'd swallowed a toad. "It's just um, please sir… who exactly are you?"

We all nodded, glad he had the courage to ask the question.

"The name is Alastor Moody," said the man, "I am an Auror of the Ministry of Magic… a dark wizard catcher," he added.

"An Auror!" James lit up.

"Brilliant!" I whispered.

Sirius was staring down at his book.

"Have you caught many dark wizards before?" Peter questioned in a squeaky voice.

Alastor Moody looked at Peter for a long, withering moment. Peter's face grew red as Moody stared. After a moment, Moody turned away. "I've caught my share," he murmured.

I began to get excited, and my voice was eager, "Is that what happened to your eye?"

Lily and Remus, who sat on either side of me, gave me a horrified expression at my question. But thankfully, instead of seeming offended, Moody laughed and pointed at me. "You. I like you." Moody made his way 'round the big desk, still cluttered with things that belonged to Professor Tutman. Moody's eye made its way over the assortment of things that had been left behind.

"Thanks," I said with a blush.

Moody had gone back to the blackboard and started writing on it as he spoke, key words from what he was saying, creating a sort of mish-mosh of words on the board. "Your trust is a precious thing," he explained, "It must be earned, not even freely. You can never know who might be the one who is working for the enemy." He underlined the word _enemy_ twice. "Could be anybody. And don't think you're safe, just because you're in school. Sometimes it is when you are safest that you are most at risk! Yes…" he said slowly, "Even at Hogwarts."

"So you know about Professor Tutman, then," Sirius said. "Dumbledore's told you what happened."

Moody looked back up at the six of us first years slowly.

"What happened?" Lily whispered to me, "What's he on about?"

But I was staring, transfixed, up at Alastor Moody, too awestruck to answer.

"Moody studied us for a moment. "What do you lot know about Tutman?" he questioned.

"You mean besides the fact that he's been imperiused?" Sirius asked.

Moody put down his chalk and walked over to Sirius' desk, leaning down to look into his eyes. Sirius stared back at Moody's one eye with just as much intensity as the teacher was looking into his two.

"Have you taken Malfoy in yet?" Sirius pressed.

Moody's mouth curved into a smirk at last as he drew away from Sirius' face, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "You're a nosey one then, aren't you?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged.

Moody mused to himself. "Of course you've an invested interest, being Malfoy's your cousin."

"I don't care about Malfoy," Sirius spat, annoyed. Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Sir," in a much more respectful tone, "I care about dark arts being… defended against, I guess. And Malfoy's loaded with them."

"I see," said Moody. "I imagine you'd be rather good at spotting dark magic… given who your father is."

We all turned to stare at Sirius, well all of us except for James. He kept his eyes trained on the desktop in front of him.

"I imagine so, sir," Sirius said.

Moody's smirk grew. "Did the house of Black leave a poor taste in your mouth, boy?" he asked, but the question was not taunting, but more of a quiet pride.

"Yes, sir," Sirius answered. "Quite poor."

Moody was back at the chalkboard. "I care about the Dark Arts being defended against, too," he grumbled, taking up the chalk once more. "That's why I'm here. I'm taking care of things. Investigating. And today, I'm filling in for your teacher, who should've been more vigilant." He rapped the board with his knuckles again by the words _CONSTANT VIGILANCE_. "If he had been, he'd still be here. Keep that in mind." Moody turned and started writing again. "Now first thing's first… to know your enemy… I know you're only first years and the Ministry wouldn't want you to be knowin' too much, but I say to hell with the Ministry and what they want…" On the board, Moody had written out _Lord Voldemort, Dark Lord, He Who Must Not Be Named, You-Know-Who._ He waved his wand at the list. "The darkest wizard of our time… You-Know-Who."

Lily raised a hand.

"Evans?"

"Why did you include He Who Must Not Be Named and You-Know-Who has his names? Why not just call him by his actual name?" she questioned.

"Because," Moody replied, "These are titles he has given himself. To call him by those names are to give those names power, to acknowledge their authenticity. Deny him the right of being named as he wishes and you are defying _him_ as well! Names are a mighty powerful thing, Miss Evans. You-Know-Who knows that and he has vested quite a lot of power in the one he claims as his own. We do not give him the dignity of it."

It made sense, what Moody had said, but to me it seemed that _You-Know-Who_ sounded much more frightening than _Voldemort_.

"Now, who here can tell me what a Death Eater is?" Moody scrawled the word across the chalkboard as he spoke, launching us into a comprehensive lesson on the current state of the dark regime…

"Blimey, that was brilliant!" said James wistfully later, when we'd gotten out of class. "Being taught Defense by a real Auror!" He was grinning from ear to ear. "You know, if I don't become a Quidditch player when I grow up, I might fancy a job in Magical Law Enforcement, like Moody."

Sirius, Remus and I agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "Wonder how he lost his eye, though," Peter said in a trembling voice, "Must've been something dark if they couldn't fix it at St. Mungo's!"  
"Could they magic an eye back at St. Mungo's?" I wondered aloud.

"I'd be afraid I'd end up losing my eyes, too," Peter shivered.

Sirius' voice was low with passion, "I wouldn't be worried about things like that. I'd love to put some of the dark wizards behind bars. Ones who really deserve it…" He didn't say it out loud, but I wondered for a moment if he was referring to his parents. "It's about justice. About what's right."

Lily chimed in, "I think you'd be good at it."

We all looked at her in surprise. Usually, as we walked from one classroom to another, she stayed quiet and didn't speak. Well, unless it was to scold us for making fun of somebody or to say something we'd been joking about was stupid. She never, ever had just spoken to one of the boys to say something that wasn't a criticism… especially not to _Sirius_… and yet here she was complimenting him. Sirius had stopped dead in his tracks, the rest of us halting only a few steps away from him. Lily took a moment to realise the others had stopped and turned back.

"You," Sirius said, "Why...Evans...Did you just say something _nice_ to me?"  
Lily blushed, "Oh...shut up, Black," she demanded, and hurried off ahead of us.

**Q&A:**

**Mariposita25 says, "Wow! I'm surprised more people haven't favorited this story! And...WOW! You published this less than a month ago, good work! You already have over 60,000 words! I'm utterly impressed. As a writer (not a fanfic one), I know how hard it is to find time, and, admittedly, motivation to write, and you do it with so much detail! I love it! This has really inspired me, and I thoroughly enjoy reading your story. Amazing! Thank you!"**

**Um, well, holy crap your words are so kind. I'm so pleased that an actual original content and not fanfictiony author likes this story! But I don't want you thinking I'm over here like Alexander Hamilton just writing nonstop. The reason the updates are so long and so frequent is that this story has been in the works for a little under a year. I published the first chapter when I was around 80% done writing the entirety of first year (and there's roughly 20 or so chapters left of first year by the way, so I actually published the first chapter when I was around this point in the story). The reason I waited so long was because I like consistent updates in my fanfics, so the way I go about it is that during the morning/early afternoon I proofread and tweak each chapter, which takes about thirty minutes. Then I upload it and write out the Q&A things which takes roughly another half an hour. I've published this story on (obviously), as well as AO3 and Quotev, so I'd say I write a couple hundred words between the three platforms' questions. Obviously, you see my answers here aren't as nearly as polished as the story itself, because I write how I speak when it comes to Q&As. But yeah, the only reason I update once a day is because I've technically already written what I've published! At this point in time I've written about 10-15 chapters of year two, but also I've made a drastic decision that is going to change the way two characters interact with one another (long story short I wanted to make one ship but I changed my mind and am making it a completely different ship), so I might take about a week hiatus between year one and two to clean that up a bit more.**

**Also, in terms of finding time to write, I've been "lucky" enough to have loads of time at my hands because of being in Quaratine, as I've mentioned in previous chapters. It's both a blessing and a curse, because I've not only gotten a lot of writing done, but I've also done a bunch of art. Ok small plug time, if you want to check out my art account (Where I'll likely make fan art of this story in the future), it's unlikelymarten on instagram! My name isn't marten, but my patronus is a pine marten so I made it a pun of that lol! Wow, okay, I feel like I definitely write wayyy too much for these, I hope you guys don't mind!**

**MyBeewing says "First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to respond to the reviews! Second, it's unfair! Now I'm wondering what will happen to Harry and how! *crosses arms and pouts* Otherwise, I sympathise with you, quarantine can be really boring :( Filch's character always makes me crack up because every time he catches a student, he's practically shouting with glee at the idea of assigning a punishment. In all the books. His hobby must be designing new forms of torture for students who get caught :) Wonderful chapter (as always), we're advancing the plot, now. Hope you update soon!**

**Don't mind, me, I'm always eternally screaming when I read all of your reviews. I like responding to things like this, because I truly feel it's important for writers (especially fanfiction ones) to have communication with readers. I feel like I don't want to be the authoritarian of the story, and I always like to hear suggestions of things (in fact, I'm considering a certain ship because of a reader's suggestion/headcanon/something else I dunno). You guys have fresh perspectives of what you're reading, as opposed to me who, I'm sure, can get a bit jaded and rush through certain things because I've reread the same chapter 50 times in a row to get it just right.**

**Also, while I try to make the main cast as realistic as possible, there's just some characters I HAVE to make cartoony. It's my duty! And Filch is definitely one of them :)**

**Thanks guys, for your sweet sweet reviews 3**

**Jedigirl18 (fun fact, the jedi part of my name is because that's my dog's name!)**


	33. 10th February, 1972

I magicked my textbook to fly about the Gryffindor common room, using one of the charms we'd been practising for homework. Peter was clapping as the Charms book flapped its pages like a bird, swooping in circles 'round the chair he sat in. He had yet to master the charm himself, as the rest of us had done, and as I flicked my wand about, directing the book's movements, Peter screwed up his face in concentration and muttered the spell desperately.

Suddenly, the portrait hole burst open behind us and a voice startled me into faltering my spell, "James Potter!" my book fell with a thump and a wail onto Peter's head.

"Sorry mate," I said, cringing.

James stood up. "How goes it, Evans?" he asked Lily.

"What did you do to Severus?" she demanded, brandishing her wand and aiming at him as she moved toward him speedily. Several people from higher years turned to look, including Derek Bell, who elbowed Bilius to get his attention as Lily's wand tip pressed into James' chest. "_Tell me_."

"Blimey!" James exclaimed, "I...I didn't do a thing to him!" He waved his hand and beat her wand away, forcing it to point elsewhere, "Point that thing away from me, Evans, you could do some damage."

She raised it again. "Afraid I might mess up your hair, are you, Potter?" she snapped, "I know you were antagonising him again, I _saw_ him after you'd done it."

Sirius was standing up, "James' been here with us for hours," he said defensively.

"He has," I confirmed, "We've been studying here since lunch."

Lily's eyes bore into James just the same.

Bilius cleared his throat, "Evans," he called, "Lower your wand, please."

Lily reluctantly lowered her wand from James' chest and he let out an exaggerated breath of relief. "There we go, Evans, we both know you don't have the stomach for that sort of thing, really, anyway," he said, a grin rolling across his mouth. The grin was so arrogant that a wave of anger flushed Lily, the heat bursting from her chest to bloom upon her cheeks. Without even really thinking about it, she waved her wand again, shouting the hex, and a jet of light shot out, hitting James and bowling him over backwards.

"Oi!" Bilius shouted, leaping up, followed by Derek, and rushing over as Sirius drew his own wand, leaping to his friend's defense. "_Expelliarmus!_" Bilius shouted and both Sirius and Lily's wands shot from their hands and into his own. Both looked equally surprised by their wands' disappearance. "Enough of that!" he said as he reached them.

James sat up, looking quite surprised as fierce, winged bogeys flew out of his nose, attacking his face, though he waved his hands over his head, trying to get them off him. "Gerrofferme!" he shouted, his voice strangely muffled thanks to the big green blobs fluttering out of his nostrils. "Gerrofferme!"

I raised my eyebrows, impressed with the ferocity with which Lily had managed to attack. A smirking shadow of amusement was not only across Sirius' but Remus' face. Even Bilius couldn't completely keep a straight face.

"_Finite Incantatem_," Bilius said, and the bogeys that had come out of James' face already fell to the floor as though dead. James timidly lowered his hands, the bogeys having stopped coming out of his nose.

"_Lily_," Bilius scolded, turning to her, "Despite that being an alright hex-"

"Alright?" roared Sirius, "Bloody brilliant is what that was! How'd you learn that one?"

Lily blushed, "Sev taught it to me. Before we came to Hogwarts. He… he said he used it on the bullies, and he wanted me to use it on bullies too, but...that was the first time." she was flushed still. "Well, I guess I _did_ use it on a bully," she added, glowering at James.

"I didn't bully him…" James muttered, frowning.

"That was brilliant!" I said, grinning.

"Regardless…" interrupted Bilius, "As a _Prefect_, I've got to tell you that you shouldn't be casting spells like that in the common room!"

James rubbed his nose, "Especially on perfectly innocent victims."

Bilius grinned and leaned closer, "But as your _friend_...good one, Evans." He offered up his hand for a high-five.

"Come on now!" whined James, "She's just made my _bogeys_ into...into vicious...attack...things! And you're high-fiving her?!"

"Serves you right for bullying Severus Snape," Lily said firmly.

"I told you, Evans, I didn't bully Snape!" James spat, standing up, "I've been here in the common room studying with this lot. I haven't been near _Snivelly_ today!"

Lily looked abashed. "You really haven't? But...then why was he upset?"

"I don't bloody know! Any number of people in this school could've made fun of that greasy-headed git," James said, annoyed, "Next time you want to hex somebody, maybe confirm first they've done whatever it is you're accusing them of!" He grabbed his books from the floor and stormed off up the stairs to the dormitory, slamming shut the door behind him.

There was a brief pause as we all stared up the steps after him, and so I turned to Lily. "Lily, you have _got_ to teach me that Hex!"

We then spent the better part of an hour practising the Bat Bogey Hex with Lily. Even Peter had managed to learn the hex before we were done. The boys and I then went upstairs to fetch James before we went to dinner. We found him lying on his bed playing with the snitch Sirius had stolen from the locker rooms months ago.

Sirius, who was a ball of energy, threw himself on top of James as he came into the room. "You idiot! You missed it, she taught us all the hex!" he said as he bounced on top of James' legs.

James scowled.

"You have to admit, mate, it was a brilliant bit of magic," Remus said, seeing James' face.

"Maybe to you," James replied sourly. "_You_ weren't the one with bogeys trying to attack you!"

I smirked, "Your face, though, when you sat up...you looked so...so perplexed…" I laughed.

"Well you would too," James replied, though he couldn't help the hint of a smile from betraying him. "Blimey, she's good."

Sirius nodded. "Certainly is! She said that was the first time she'd actually cast that spell! Bilius said she probably was able to get it off so well because she really felt passionate about hitting you a good one."

Peter added, "Yeah, she must really hate you, James."

James rolled his eyes, "She can't hate me. Nobody hates me. Not for any good reason, anyway,"

"Girls don't need good reasons to hate people," Sirius pointed out. Sirius pointed out, "They just do. It's what comes naturally for them, I suppose."

"Hey, not true! The day Lily Evans is a representative for all girls, we're done for!" I said, pushing Sirius off the bed to punish him for his words. He let out a yelp, and we all dissolved into laughter. Thank god James was in a better mood.

"Anyway, we came to get you for dinner." Remus said.

"I'm starved!" Sirius chimed in.

We all walked down to the Great Hall, where James was careful not to get a seat too near to Lily. Not that it was hard to avoid her, as she'd taken a seat at the opposite end of the table with the older girls. As we took our seats, I glanced over to the Slytherin table, and my eyes met with Severus Snape's for just a moment. Severus' eyes were narrowed as he stared across the Hall at me, so I narrowed my own eyes back and Severus looked away.

I wondered what _had_ upset Severus that had put him in the state that Lily had witnessed him in.

I glanced at the staff table as well. Professor Moody was staring across the Great Hall at the Slytherin table, too, his eyes flickering over each face, coming to rest upon Lucius Malfoy, whose eyes were diverted downward at the table as he lifted his goblet of pumpkin juice. The girl beside him, Narcissa Black, was clinging to Malfoy's arm.

"D'you reckon Moody's found something about the mirror and that's what had Snape all worked up?" I asked.

"Perhaps," replied Sirius. He glanced over at the table.

"Can't have, Malfoy hasn't been expelled yet," injected Remus.

"True," I said with a frown.

**Hiiii folks! I'm terribly sorry that I didn't update yesterday, it was my first day of virtual classes so I was a bit swamped. But to make it up to you guys, I'm going to be uploading ANOTHER chapter later today!**


	34. 14th February, 1972

Valentine's Day was here, and the halls of Hogwarts were lousy with students attempting to trick one another into drinking love potions from Zonkos. I saw at least one instance of a bewitched garden gnome, dug up from out in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, floating about dressed up like a Cupid as we dodged through the lovesick mess to the Gryffindor table early, quite annoyed with the hubbub. James unraveled his book bag from 'round his shoulders and chucked it down. "Oi, a right obstacle course that was!"

"Tell me about it," grumbled Peter, who had run down the stairs ahead of us, because the Cupid gnome had chased after him, shooting little arrows at his bottom.

I looked over the table, decided on some eggs and ham, and sank into my seat beside Sirius. "Bilius looks as though he's having a jolly good time," he muttered, nodding at the Prefect down the row, who was sitting with his girlfriend.

"I didn't know he was snogging Amelia Bones," I said, eyebrows raised.

"He's been dating her for awhile now," Peter said, without even glancing over.

Sirius looked at Peter, "Why is it you seem to know who fancies who before any of us do?" he demanded, "Little gossip, you are."

Remus was staring down the table at Bilius and Amelia too, now. "Blimey," he said, "Messy, snogging, isn't it?"

"And in the Great Hall, too!" said James, impressed yet disgusted.

"At least somebody is enjoying this stupid holiday," Peter said, who was still sour about the gnome's arrows.

I nodded in agreement, "Valentines' isn't even a real holiday, what have we got to celebrate it for?" I hated romance, it was disgusting!

"I s'pose we'll understand when we're older," answered Remus. "Looks like the fourth years get it alright." he pointed to a pack of fourth years who were paired off like Bilius and Amelia were.

I snickered. "Like rabbits, they are. I expect a boom in the population soon."

James answered, "I'll be too busy with Quidditch come my fourth year. That's an important one, you know. Most captains are picked in their fifth if they're going to be, and I plan on being captain, so it's right important my fourth year be a good one."

"You don't even know if you'll be on the team yet and you're already naming yourself captain!" exclaimed Sirius, "That ego, mate!"

James grinned.

After breakfast, we went out onto the grounds to get away from all the Valentines-obsessed students filling the castle halls. It was wet and cold, though not as horrible as it might've been for that time of year. So we made our way down to the edge of the lake and threw rocks into the thin ice along the edge, trying to make patterns in the broken sheet. When we were finally cold and the sun was setting, we started up the castle, laughing and joking all the way.

We were coming up the pathway to the stairs when, as we were goofing off, the front doors of the castle burst open and out onto the steps came Severus Snape. Quickly, Sirius motioned for us four to follow as he dove behind one of the bushes lining the path, just before Snape spotted us. We ducked low to the ground and I clapped my hand over Peter's mouth as he tried to ask exactly why we were hiding.

Lily was rushing behind Severus onto the steps of the school, which, by the time she'd come out, he was already halfway down, his fists balled and shoved deep into his robes. "_Severus_," Lily scolded, "Stop. You're being ridiculous...nobody gives a damn if we talk to each other."

"I'm not," Severus replied. He stopped on the stairs, though, and waited until Lily had caught him up. "They _do_ care, Lily. You don't understand the Slytherins, alright? They do care. They care very much, and it's much easier to just...come out here to talk, alright?" He looked at her with a sour expression on his face. I numbly wondered what she's ever seen in him.

Lily's face was just as sour in return. "It's just so stupid. What do they care who you're friends with?"

"They do, though."

"Well, Slytherin house sounds like a load of bullies to me, then," she said huffily.

Severus took a deep, sharp-sounding breath, as though he could scarcely stand to have the patience to put up with Lily and her naivety.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk to me about that you couldn't just say in front of my friends?" Lily demanded. She had her arms crossed over her chest.

Severus hesitated.

"You dragged me out here," she reminded him, "It had better be for a good reason."

Severus reached into his book bag and pulled out a small box of chocolate cauldrons and, staring at the box sheepishly, he looked up at her and held them out. "These are for you," he said, his face rather red.

Lily stared at the package a moment. "Chocolate cauldrons?"

"They're raspberry filled," Severus offered.

"I love raspberry," Lily said. She took the box gently.

"I know you do," Severus replied, "That's why I got the raspberry ones. I would have gotten you a box of those raspberry doughnuts you like, from that bakery back home, but...I mean, they're Muggles there, at the bakery so...an owl going 'round to pick up a delivery of doughnuts would've been...quite hard to explain without breaking a couple laws."

Lily stared at the box, a smile on her face. Then she looked up and it faded a bit. "Thanks, Sev."

He nodded, "Yeah. It's alright."

"I really appreciate it," Lily said, smiling.

"You're welcome," Severus answered. He smiled back at her, his smile much more eager than hers, "It _is_ Valentine's and all…" he added.

Lily smiled again, rather awkwardly this time, and, as Severus stared at her, she faltered. "Sev…" she stared. He looked up at her. "I, um…" she seemed like she didn't know how to say what she felt. "Never mind," she finished lamely. "Do you want to take a walk?" she suggested.

"Sure," Severus answered.

"Alright, then." Lily said as she led the way down the rest of the stairway.

Severus grinned and hurried to keep up with her.

They walked right past the bush where the boys and I were crouching without ever having noticed that we were there. "Here, have one of the cauldrons," she suggested, pulling open the box.

"Thanks," Severus replied, taking the chocolate she offered him.

We stayed hiding and quiet until Lily and Severus were out of sight, further down the pathway.

"Blimey, that was a close one," muttered James as the five of us crawled out from the bush.

I glanced back at the two, more than halfway along the path, headed toward the lake. "Well, there you have it, Pete," I said nudging the short boy. "Fodder for your gossip column."

Sirius lunged ahead, leading the way up the stairs of the castle. James and I continued to stare off after Lily and Severus. Sirius stopped at the top step, realising that we weren't following along. "Oi, you two, coming or what?"

I tore myself away from staring after them. "What? Sorry."

Remus laughed, "You two alright?"

I nudged James, and he jumped out of his trance. "Yeah, fine," he replied, and we quickly jogged up the steps behind the other three. Sirius watched us with raised eyebrows. "What?" James demanded.

Sirius grinned at him knowingly.

"_What?_" James asked again. "I don't fancy Lily if that's what you're thinking!"

"Uh huh," said Sirius, smirking.

I shoved Sirius. "You realise that would mean I fancied that greasy-haired Snivelly, right? Merlin's Beard, I'd rather jump off the Astronomy Tower!"

The five of us laughed, and turned to bugging James over fancying Lily. I don't exactly know why seeing Lily and Severus together like that frustrated me so, but I had a feeling that I wouldn't like the answer.


	35. 15th and 16th February, 1972

**_15th February, 1972_**

With each passing day, Sirius got more and more angry that nothing seemed to be done about You-Know-Who hanging out with two students in the dungeons, and it was showing in his attitude. He was being quite sassy, talking back to even the teachers. Professor Flitwick seemed at a loss when Sirius had snapped at him during the morning Charms lesson, but Professor McGonagall was much less inclined to put up with him.

"Mister Black, I recommend that you check your attitude at the door, unless you fancy a detention," she said hotly when he had muttered about his lack of trust in the faculty of Hogwarts beneath his breath during Transfiguration.

"We need to do _something_," Sirius said this evening while the rest of us were nearly falling asleep trying to get our Potions essay done.

"Go to sleep or something, mate," yawned James, "Let Dumbledore handle it, we've already done what we could."

Sirius shook his head. "You four don't understand how bad this all is, how bad You-Know-Who is...how bad he makes people." He scowled.

"Well you can't do anything about it by pacing 'round the common room, Sirius," said Remus pragmatically, "Especially not at this hour. Get some rest."

The look in Sirius' eyes told me that he would likely be thinking about something while he was trying to get rest, anyway.

**_16th February, 1972_**

This morning, as the boys and I met up in the common room to head to breakfast, I noticed we were missing someone. I was about to ask where Sirius was, when the portrait hole opened, and the boy in question climbed through.

"Where were _you?_" I asked.

Sirius merely shrugged. "Don't worry about it." I eyed him suspiciously as we headed down to the Great Hall.

During breakfast, we were eating our beans and toast when the owls flew in to deliver the morning mail. James was bragging about a box of Cherry Salamanders his mum had sent him when Sirius suddenly perked up, his eyes wide with excitement. Remus and I glanced over his shoulder to see what he was so excited about, but neither of us could see anything.

"What's going on, mate?" Remus asked.

Sirius was grinning. "I'll tell you later!" he jumped up, tossing his book bag over his shoulder and darted from the table.

"Well alright then," James muttered, shaking his head, "Bloody mad, he is."

I frowned, staring after Sirius as he ducked out of the Great Hall.

Peter snatched up the rest of Sirius' beans and poured them over his own toast.

In Herbology, Sirius had explained what he did. He used one of the school owls to send Lucius Malfoy a note from You-Know-Who, saying to speak in the 'usual place'. Once that was done, he dragged Professor Moody to the prefect's toilet, where he found...nothing. It seemed like the mirror was gone, and Moody had told him that "Constant vigilance can be kept from afar."

I shook my head, _how stupid IS he?_ "You didn't expect Malfoy to leave his stuff where Dumbledore knew to look for it now, did you?" I hissed quietly as we worked on our plants. "Of course he's packed it up and moved his things elsewhere!"

"How do you move a whole wall's worth of mirror?" demanded Sirius, "And where to? How are we supposed to get him caught now if he's moving his _office_ all over the place?"

I shrugged, "How am I supposed to know?"

"Dumbledore's not an imbecile, Sirius," voiced Remus, "He has it under control. _We_ don't have to do anything."

"Yeah, Sirius," echoed Peter, "Dumbledore's got it under control."

Sirius frowned, "We thought _Tutman_ had it all under control, too. Great lot we knew about _that_, though, wasn't it?"

James rolled his eyes, "Tutman is _not_ Dumbledore."

We switched to go back to focusing on the task at hand as Professor Viridi walked by. The moment she'd passed on to the next group, Sirius said, "I didn't say Tutman was Dumbledore, he's not anywhere near as powerful as that, obviously, but Dumbledore's got a lot to deal with. Maybe he isn't paying as much attention to this as he ought to be. Maybe he thinks Lucius Malfoy isn't really dangerous. Wouldn't be the first time an adult underestimated what a kid's getting into based on the fact that they're a _kid_," he added.

"Dumbledore knows better than to take something lightly if it shouldn't be," Remus said.

"Does he really?" asked Sirius, rounding on him, "The man who lets a werewolf on the school grounds isn't capable of underestimating the dangers something poses?"

Remus' face turned red. I put my hand on Remus' shoulder and glared at Sirius, nostrils flaring. "That's out of line, Black,"

James and Peter both looked quite surprised.

"Sorry," Sirius said, looking down at his hands as guilt flushed through him. "I didn't mean that as nasty as it sounded. I just...I mean…" he stammered.

Remus shook his head, "No, no...it's alright. On the contrary. I think you have a point."

"I'm sorry," Sirius said solemnly, looking Remus in the eye. "I don't think you're dangerous. Certainly not as dangerous as that Slytherin scum." His eyebrows knit together seriously. "I swear it, Remus."

Remus forced a weak little smile. "It's alright, mate, really." He waved off the apology. I rubbed Remus' shoulder, and we went back to work on our Herbology assignment in silence, our hands pressing against the warm greenhouse mud, despite the icy cold blowing against the windows.

"Maybe he's made the mirror a smaller mirror," said Peter suddenly.

We all looked at Peter in surprise, "What?" I asked.

The very tips of Peter's ears turned red. "Malfoy and Snape. Maybe they've made the mirror from the prefect's toilet _smaller_ somehow, like a hand mirror or something. That piece you have still works, doesn't it, Sirius? The same as the rest of the wall? Perhaps Malfoy's broken the mirror into smaller bits."

"Blimey, Peter, you're bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Sirius excitedly, his eyes flashing, "That's _got_ to be it. You're right. He's probably made the mirror smaller...he's a seventh year...of course he would know the spells to do something like that. Something like _engorgio_ except the opposite way, you know?"

"I'll bet he's got it in the Slytherin dormitory," agreed James eagerly, nodding, "So now all we've got to do is get into the Slytherin common room and-"

Remus' eyebrows raised. "Excuse me,_ what?_"

"-steal back the mirror for Moody to see!" James finished with a flourish.

Remus looked, shocked at the two of them, as Sirius nodded excitedly at James' idea. "Oi- you two have got to be joking!"

"We've got to get Malfoy caught," I said, shrugging. "It can't be _that_ hard to get into the common room."

"You're mad," Remus stammered. "You're all bloody mad."


	36. 29th February, 1972

Remus was the only one in the group that was absolutely against our plans to invade the Slytherin common room. And he likely was suspicious that we would take advantage of his absence during the full moon to execute said plans. He made it clear that if we were caught that we would get detention, or worse, be expelled.

There was a sort of unspoken agreement between James, Sirius, Peter and I that we would make an attempt at finding the missing mirror as soon as Remus had left the castle. I knew that Remus didn't approve of the mission, and I was aware that he had good reason to doubt its chances of being successful. After all, there were about a quarter million things that could go wrong, if not more.

But regardless of the risks involved, I did have a good feeling about it. For one thing, if we went to the Slytherin common room today, it's Leap Day, and that has always been a lucky day for me. Additionally, I couldn't help but think that Dumbledore had been secretly on our side through the whole Students-Out-of-Bed debacle before, especially given that Professor Tutman had _mysteriously_ left the day after our accusations in the Great Hall had been made. There was a very great chance that, should we be caught in attempting to steal the mirror from Malfoy's dormitory, Dumbledore would look the other way. After all, what's a few broken rules if the fall of the whole magical world could be prevented...right?

Remus stood by the couch, tucking his things into his book bag, trying to prolong his departure as long as he could. He looked over at us. Sirius kept his head down, staring carefully at his Transfiguration essay, purposefully not looking in Remus' direction. James and I were playing catch with the snitch, and Peter was trying to turn a needle into a matchstick. Remus took a deep breath, shrugging his book bag over his shoulder and running his hands down the length of the shoulder strap.

"You'll, er, stay out of trouble, won't you?" he asked.

"Of course," said James.

Peter looked up from his spellcasting. "You're leaving? Already?" he glanced about at the little glass clock on one of the tables. "Is it that late?"

"Nearly dinner," I yawned, chucking the snitch into James' open hands.

Remus nodded.

"Blimey," Peter said, "No wonder I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," said Sirius without looking up.

Remus went towards the portrait hole, then paused just before he reached it. He turned back. "You're going to go to the Slytherin common room, aren't you?" he asked.

James blinked at him, trying to come up with a reply. "Now why would we do that?" was all he could come up with. I snickered. _What a lame response_.

"Don't pretend," Remus commanded, "Just promise me that you won't push your luck, alright? Lucius Malfoy doesn't seem like the sort of person you want to cross." He took a deep breath and started for the door, then stopped and turned back again. "And don't...whatever you do...mess with the Dark Lord at all...and you should probably avoid bothering Snape because all you'll do is anger Lily Evans and she'll be angry for the rest of term. And don't leave Peter behind...or damage any historical artifacts...or get expelled." He said and looked at us pleadingly for a moment, then turned for the door again...before turning back one last time. "And...don't leave out any of the details when you tell me about it in two days," he added.

Sirius finally looked up with a grin. "We wouldn't dare."

About half an hour later, we gathered up our things, when Bilius Weasley came into the common room, knocking the snow off his boots. "Where've you been then?" asked James, watching as Bilius leaped over the back of the couch and onto the floor before the fire as several other sixth years dusted off by the portrait hole as well.

Bilius held his palms up to the fire, "Just been out at Care of Magical Creatures," he explained, "Been learning more on the Giant Squid. Bloody well could've picked a warmer day to do it, they could. It's blisterin' cold out there!" he paused, letting his fingertips thaw out. "Where are you lot off to?"

"Dinner," I replied. "We'll see you down there, then." I motioned for James, Sirius and Peter to follow along after me.

"Right-o," Bilius said, waving goodbye from his spot before the fireplace.

We headed down the stairs to the Entrance Hall, and Peter started on to the Great Hall, but stopped short when he realised that we had scurried to a corner behind the stairs where we could see the doorway that led down to the dungeons. I was watching the Slytherins come up for dinner, gnawing my lower lip. "I thought we were going to dinner?" whined Peter.

"We'll have dinner afterwords," Sirius replied.

Peter looked longingly back at the Great Hall. He sighed longingly, his stomach rumbling angrily.

"Tell your bottomless stomach to shut it," James said, then, catching a sniff of the delicious smells coming from the Hall, he added, "I mean, you can nick us some chops after, yeah?"

"I s'pose," Peter groaned, though I could tell by the tone of his voice he really wanted them _now_.

"There's Malfoy," hissed Sirius suddenly, ducking back. "Just came up from the dungeons with Snape and Narcissa." I watched as the trio of them, and several other Slytherins, disappeared into the Great Hall.

"C'mon," I whispered, "Now's our chance, if we're ever gonna do it."

The four of us bolted across the Entrance Hall and down the steps to the dungeons. "Excuse us, just trying to see Slughorn," James muttered as a Slytherin girl jabbed him roughly in the shoulder with her elbow on the way by. He rubbed his shoulder and glared at her, "Ruddy, rude little-"

"Oi, James, c'mon," I called.

In the dungeons, it seemed most of the Slytherins must've already gone up. The corridor was empty as it had been the night we'd snuck down before. We made our way down the hall and paused in the doorway of Slughorn's store as James pulled out the invisibility cloak and tossed it over us. "You're the only one that knows the way from here, Peter," he pointed out.

Peter clutched the cloak to be sure it didn't lift up as he led us slowly down the corridor, past the Prefect's bathroom. Peter had told us that after we ran away from Malfoy and lost him, he somehow found himself in the Slytherin common room. He had no idea how he's made it in there, but we assumed he must be the key somehow to getting in.

It wasn't hard to tell which door we were after. Unlike the concealed Gryffindor doorway, the Slytherins were quite obvious with their poison-green door, with the handle shaped like a serpent, curling and twisting about. We came to a stop at the door, and I stared at it in awe.

"Well, go on, then," commanded Sirius, and when Peter didn't reach up for the handle quickly enough, he grabbed for it himself, only to get his hand nearly there when...with an almighty snapping of gnashing teeth, the serpent bit at Sirius' fingertips angrily. He jumped back, "Woah! Bloody hell!"

My eyes were wide, "What was _that?!_"

"It's alive!" Sirius said.

"It's bewitched," James argued.

"It bites, whatever it is," I replied.

"You don't think they know we're coming?" James asked.

Peter looked over his shoulder nervously, "We're going to get caught, aren't we?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "If they knew we were coming they would've done a lot worse than set their bloody doorknob on us," he pointed out. He rubbed his chin. "One of you try it," he suggested, "Maybe it knows me somehow. Lucius might've suspected we'd do this and told it not to let me in or something."

We nudged Peter, since he was one in front. He stumbled forward a bit, then shook off the cloak and reached out a hand for the serpent, his hand shaking. "Alright! See? It's me somehow," Sirius said excitedly as Peter's palm pressed against the silver snake's body. He had just grabbed hold, when a voice echoed down the corridor, making all four of our heads turn.

"What are you _doing?_" It was Lily Evans. She scampered down the hallway, looking positively livid. "You shouldn't be down here. You're going to get into very big trouble!" she marched down the hallway. "Where are you other three? I know you're here, I heard your voices!"

We decided to shrug off the cloak.

Lily eyed the cloak as James tucked it away in his book bag, but didn't say anything about it. "You lot are _way_ out of bounds."

"And what are _you_ doing down here? Your snivelling boyfriend is up in the hall eating dinner, so there goes your excuse," James accused.

"I saw _you_ come down," Lily replied, "And I followed to tell you how out of bounds you are!"

"Spying on us, more like," muttered James.

I frowned, "Look, Lily. This is important, alright, and it's got nothing to do with you. So just go on up to dinner and leave us be."

"I can't just _leave you be_," Lily argued. "What're you doing going into the Slytherin common room? We aren't supposed to be going in other houses' common rooms. It's against the rules."

"Why do you even give a damn about it?" James demanded.

Lily sighed, "Because I don't want the other Gryffindors thinking it's us First Years to blame when we don't win the House Cup this year, alright?" she looked between us. "Where's Remus?"

"He didn't want to come," I said truthfully.

"Well bloody hell, at least one of you has got some brains!" Lily said. She paused and looked beseechingly at each of us. "Come on, just come upstairs. This isn't right, you'll end up in detention."

Peter started to pull back from the serpent, but Sirius barked, "No! We're doing this. It's more important than detentions, Lily, there's a lot more at stake here that you don't understand."

"Try me," she dared him.

"It takes a great deal of explanation and I haven't got the time for that," Sirius argued, "Now. Are you in or are you out? And if you're out, you'd best keep your mouth shut about what we're up to down here or...or I'll hex you."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Like you know any good hexes."

"I know plenty," replied Sirius, a dark look crossing his face.

James rolled his eyes, "Look, can we get on with it? In or out, Evans?"

Lily looked affronted, "I'm not leaving you lot here to destroy the Slytherin common room. They haven't done anything to you!"

"In then?" I asked.

"None of us are going in!" Lily said, "We're going _upstairs!_"

But Sirius pulled on Peter, making him pull on the door, and it swung open and the greenish glow from the wide glass dome poured out into the corridor. We all gasped as we looked into the Slytherin common room.

Even Lily couldn't help but be curious and mesmerised as the lot of us stepped through the doorway and into the room. It seemed there was nobody around, and the room was empty. _Probably all up at the Great Hall_, I thought, as we made our way quietly into the room, our trainers sinking in the thick, plush green carpet. "Blimey," I muttered, looking around.

"Think they can see the merfolk and the giant squid from down here?" whispered Sirius in a bewildered sort of voice, staring up at the ceiling.

"I would think so," replied James, awestruck.

"Fascinating," Lily whispered, "It's just like Severus described it."

"You lot stay here, guard the door," Sirius commanded. "I'm going to find the mi-" he stopped mid-word and stared at Lily for a moment, then, thinking better of himself, "The _thing_." Quickly, he took the stairs several at a time.

It took only a few minutes before Sirius bounded down the stairs, and my heart sank at what I saw he was holding. _We were right_.

"Is that what you came all the way down here for, then?" Lily asked, confusion in her voice, "To steal a broken bit of glass?"

Sirius tucked the piece of the mirror carefully into James' bookbag. "It's not just a _broken bit of glass_," James snapped at Lily. "We told you that you wouldn't understand what we were down here for, so shut up."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest.

"Let's get out of here," begged Peter, "Before somebody comes back."

We murmured in agreement and hastened to the door, James being very careful not to let his bag hit anything on his way. Lily was still clearly annoyed. "How is that shard worth risking your _education_ over?" she demanded, "It can't be worth anything."

"Shows what _you_ know," snapped James.

I sighed, wishing he would calm down. "It's worth an awful lot," I said, "If you know what you're looking for, that is."

Lily crossed her arms, "And since when is _theft_ excusable at any rate?" she demanded, tapping her foot on the dark green carpet, staring at us accusingly.

I opened my mouth to answer, but was interrupted as Peter gave a terrified squeak, pointing frantically at the door.

I grabbed hold of Lily and yanked her down to the floor behind the couch we stood near. Sirius had flattened himself so quickly it looked like the air had been blown right out of his lungs, with James nearly laying on top of him. Peter crouched awkwardly, sweat beading up on his forehead, as the sound of the Slytherin common room door creaking open reached our ears. My eyes were wide and I implored Lily to stay quiet as I raised my free hand to my lips in a motion for her to stay silent. For once, she decided to listen.

"Bloody old codger," said a gruff voice that I didn't recognise, "Maybe he'd still have both his eyes if he didn't go on interferin' in everybody else's business like that."

"Yeah," agreed a higher voice. "Where's he get off accusing _my mother_…"

"Accused about the whole house, you know," said the first voice. "I have a right mind to skive off Dark Arts."

"Not like he isn't teaching things we already know," agreed the second.

The voices were coming closer, and Sirius pressed as hard as he could to the back of the couch. Peter's lower lip trembled, sweat pouring over his brow. I held my breath and could feel the nerves running through Lily's fingers, which were twined about my own. The two Slytherins continued their discussion of Professor Moody as they passed the couch, their legs coming into our view, before they headed on up the stairs without so much as a glance at the floor.

"I could bloody teach a more interesting Dark Arts curriculum," said the first boy with a scoff, "Like to see the hair on old Moody's head stand up if he knew half the magic I can perform!" There was a scuffling of their feet on the carpet and then the slamming of a dorm room door.

We all relaxed - which entailed poor Peter toppling right over onto his side on the carpet. Lily let go of my hand, and James rolled off of Sirius. Sirius hurried us to our feet, "C'mon," he urged us, "Let's go. We've gotta get moving...if they're back then any number of Slytherins could be on the way." He waved us off toward the door of the common room and the four of us rushed so hard we were tripping over each other on our way out into the corridor. "Quickly...quietly…." he prodded.

We ran down the corridor, our trainers squeaking on the flagstones, until we reached Professor Slughorn's office door. We then slowed to a walk, where we would be able to at least have an explanation for our presence should we be caught. Lily looked at us, her green eyes wide with adrenaline still running through her veins.

"Your hair's a bit-" James said, miming the way her hair stuck out from the side of her head.

"Oh _really_," Lily snapped, the nervous energy expelling itself through her sassy tone, "I can't imagine why my hair would be a mess… you'd think I'd just been running for my bloody life or something!" she reached up and hurriedly flattened it...the wrong side, that is...but before I could gently point that out, she said, "I don't know what you lot were up to...or what you were doing _stealing_ like that, but you're going to be in very big trouble once Dumbledore finds out and-"

"So go with us to tell him what we've just done, why don't you?" James snipped, "That's where we're headed anyway! It's Dumbledore that's needing the mirror, you git."

Lily looked taken aback by this new information. "Dumbledore _sent_ you to steal the mirror?" she asked, face blank with surprise. "But...why didn't he just come down and get it himself? Or have Slughorn...or ask whoever you've stolen it from to just…" Lily's eyes flashed with confusion.

"Because guilty parties _always_ cough up the evidence of their wrongdoings without a fight." I said sarcastically.

Sirius cleared his throat, "Besides, he didn't _send _us, strictly speaking, but...we are going to _tell_ him. That's the whole point of what we've gone for."

Peter was still shaking.

"You lot are completely mad," Lily said, but she said it with far less anger than before. No, now there seemed to be a sort of curiosity about her. She looked at James' bag, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's so important about-"

"We're not telling you anything about it," James said, cutting her off before she could ask any questions. "You didn't want anything to do with what we were up to, remember? All too eager to turn us in if we were up to no good, but now that it's something helpful you want to know all about it? No way, you don't get to share in the glory we're going to get for what we've done!"

"Of course your big head doesn't want to share any recognition!" Lily snapped, "Don't worry, I wasn't going to _ask_ to be included! I _don't_ want anything to do with whatever this is!" She turned on her heels and stormed off down the corridor and up the steps to the Entrance Hall, pushing past another couple Slytherins as she went.

"Good! We don't _want_ you to be!" James shouted, but Sirius put his hand on James' arm.

"Let it go, mate, she's already walked off," Sirius said, stopping James from shouting any more as the Slytherins passed by us.

James was fuming all the way up the stairs and through the castle to Dumbledore's office. "She's so _stuck up_, don't you think so?" he demanded as we jumped the trick step and rode 'round rotating staircases.

I shrugged, "Not really. You were pretty bloody stuck up yourself, actually," I said honestly.

Thankfully, James didn't snap back at me, but chose to ignore me instead, "Forces her way into the mix and then acts like we _made_ her come along...ruddy spying on us and acts like _we're _the bad guys. Tries to tell on us to Dumbledore! Where's her house allegiance? I'll tell you where...not where it belongs, that's for sure! It's that Snape character's fault, you know. Turning her head against us...brainwashing her, that git is."

"_Brainwashing?_" gasped Peter, "How could he do that?"

"Hypnotising her, I bet," James said.

Sirius laughed, "I wouldn't put it past him, honestly, but I doubt ol' Snivelley's been hypnotising anybody. Maybe the smell of his filth has addled with her brains a bit."

"He certainly does smell," I snorted. "Could've smelled _him_ coming all the way from the Great Hall!"

We were just about to reach the fifth floor corridor where Dumbledore's office was hidden when Peter's stomach growled so loudly that it seemed to echo off the walls. I looked 'round at him. "Blimey, Pete! You better go down to the kitchen and nick us some dinner. We'll go up to Gryffindor Tower and have a bite before we go talk to Dumbledore."

Peter looked at the gargoyle statues uneasily, "Don't tell Dumbledore without me," he said.

"We won't!" Sirius promised. "We'll go up to the dorms and see you there."

"Okay," Peter nodded, "I'll be right there." He turned and scurried off down the hall quickly.

James called after him, "Get some extra treacle tarts!"

We were true to our word and went up to the Tower instead of trying to get in to talk to Dumbledore just yet. Once to the boys' dorm, Sirius magicked the door locked and James slipped the mirror out of his bookbag and onto his bed. The three of us stood back a few feet, staring at the square bit of mirror before us, as though waiting for something to happen.

"How do you s'pose it works?" James whispered without tearing his eyes off the eerily reflectionless glass.

"Dunno," answered Sirius. "Maybe it's like…" he paused, as if trying to think of things to compare the mirror's workings to. "Maybe Voldemort sort of...projects...his...his being into the mirror somehow?" He looked at James and I, "Have you ever heard of anything like that?"

"There's a Muggle telly programme my dad and I sometimes watch, called _Doctor Who_. They have things like that on the programme, but it's not very realistic. It's time travel and similar nonsense," I replied with a shrug. "I s'pose it could be sort of like a live telly broadcast, but...in a mirror."

Sirius rubbed his chin. "How do you think Malfoy...you know..._summons_ him?" he whispered.

"Maybe You-Know-Who summons Malfoy," James suggested.

"It seemed like there ought to be some sort of two-way communication, though," I said, "Like how a telephone works."

"Maybe he can just..._hear_ us," said James. Even hearing those words made a chill run down my spine and I shivered. So did the other two. We turned to stare at the mirror again, and I half-expected to see the face of the Dark Lord swirl into being before our very eyes from the blackness of the image in the mirror's glass.

There had been some time without realising it when there came a cry from the other side of the door behind us, "C'mon guys, let me in!" That made us jump nearly to the ceiling.

"Oi!" Sirius laughed, trying to pass off his own surprise. "You nearly leaped out of your skin."

"So did you, mate," I replied, while James pulled open the dormitory door and let Peter in. He had a couple big bags hanging off his shoulders as he toddled through the door frame and the smell of pork, spiced apples and treacle tart filled the room. "Oh boy! That smells exquisite!" James exclaimed.

Peter grinned as he put down the bags. We converged onto the food so eagerly, that I nearly thought I saw the flash of a peeking face 'round the frame of the mirror.

**Q&A:**

**Radio Free Death says, "I have to applaud you for having an opening that makes some sense. The main character doesn't immediately believe in the letter and considers it a prank."**

**This lovely person is commenting based on having just read the first chapter, and I'm SO pleased that you think that! Despite this being somewhat of an OC-insert fic, I'm trying to shy away from stereotypes and Mary Sueishness as much as humanly possible.**

**MyBeewing says, "I suppose they are mad, but brilliance can often be the same thing, right? Sirius was way out of line, but then again, after years of having prejudiced things against werewolves, he, James and Peter will have more difficulty adjusting, I suppose. Seems that Peter is quite bright when he wants to! If only the others would give him a chance...*sighs* Great chapter - no wait two chapters! In one day, yay! It even rhymes! Hope you're doing ok with online classes and you can update soon :)**

**Ah yes, well as you can see I have now updated! But I agree, all geniuses are often considered mad in some aspect. However, people like James can often get a little ahead of themselves and be egotistical. Believe me, something toward the end of this year will sort of teach James a little lesson in humility. Peter to me as always been one of the more interesting characters to write. I've decided to make him very socially observant (like he's a bit of the school gossip and has the tea on EVERYBODY), and he's the snack guy. The boys and Sabrina always can rely on him to head down to the kitchens to get some food. For obvious reasons, he's the most hated Marauder, and I'm trying my best to make him a lot more likable for two reasons: one, because it's more realistic of course, and two: so IF he betrays the Potters, it will be all the more gut-wrenching! MUAHAHAHAHA!**


	37. 2nd March, 1972

_Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick_

"Oi, somebody let that bloody bird in the windows already," James groaned, for once actually concentrating on his homework.

_Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick_

"It's _Sirius'_ bloody bird," moaned Peter.

I started shaking Sirius awake, who was taking a nap on his bed. We were trying to stay up late just in case Remus came back from wherever he went during his transformations. "Bloody hell, Sirius, answer your owl," I commanded.

Sirius' face was firmly planted in his pillow. "I haven't got an owl...who would send _me_ an owl?"

"Dunno," James replied, "But that isn't Bubo, he raps with his beak not his talons,"

I nodded, "And it isn't Archie either,"

_Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-_

"ALRIGHT! Alright. I'm up, I'm _up._" Sirius rolled off the bed, landing on his feet, and stood up, stumbling to the window, reaching for the latch to allow the owl to hop through. The owl pushed the letter into Sirius' hand and, without waiting for payment or treats, turned and flapped off over the forest, back toward London. Sirius looked down at the letter in shock.

James looked up. "Who's it from, then?" He asked.

Sirius looked up, the awe on his face quite apparent. "My mum."

"Your _mum?_" I asked, understanding the significance of Sirius' mum writing him at school. "But...but why?"

"Dunno, I haven't opened it yet, have it?" Sirius said, turning it over. I could see the back of the envelope was sealed with an unbroken seal, with what I assumed was the Black family crest.

Even Peter was interested now, looking over. "Go on then," he urged. "_Open_ it."

Sirius took a deep breath and slid his finger beneath the seal, pulling open the envelope and withdrawing a folded bit of parchment from within, which he shook out.

"What'd she say?" James asked, leaning forward in an attempt to try and make out the writing.

"Sirius? You alright, mate?" I asked gently, as Sirius' face paled considerably. Sirius merely handed the note over to James and stumbled back to sit on the edge of his bed. James turned the note over and Peter and I crowded around him.

The note said in fancy, tight script: _Remember everything you do is a reflection on the House of Black_.

Peter scrunched up his face in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked stupidly.

Sirius looked up slowly. "It means she knows about the mirror. And she's not happy about it." he added.

James and I exchanged nervous looks. "How's she know?" I asked.

Sirius bit his lip, gears turning. He likely didn't want to admit it.

"Because You-Know-Who knows," James said, reading the words in Sirius' eyes.

Sirius nodded.

Peter's eyes widened. "But...but he must be angry if he knows."

"Yeah," Sirius said, glancing toward the mirror across the room. "I imagine he is."

My eyes trailed Sirius' to the mirror. It sat on Remus' desk, dark and still. Peter trembled, kneeling now on the side of James' bed. "But if the Dark Lord is angry with us...that's...that's very, very bad. Isn't it?"

I facepalmed and looked at Peter. "No, it's just _brilliant_." I said sarcastically, "Having the most powerful dark wizard in all the world after you is a jolly good time."

James rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, Peter, what kind of a question is that?"

Peter's ears turned pink.

I looked to Sirius. "So what do we do now?"

Sirius shook his head, "Dunno."

"We should tell Dumbledore!" Peter squeaked, "He can protect us from the Dark Lord!" He leapt up from James' bed and ran over to Remus' desk, grabbing hold of the mirror's frame, about to pick it up, but before he could, Sirius was there, and he pulled Peter off of it.

"NO!" He said, eyes wild. "No. If we tell Dumbledore now, my mother's going to know that it was _me_ that told him and I'm going to get in even bigger trouble. I could end up killed." Sirius' voice trembled.

"We _have_ to tell Dumbledore!" argued Peter, "We're just _kids_, what're we supposed to do to protect ourselves? We can't even get our Charms homework done with high marks...we'd be useless against the Dark Lord's power!"

Sirius said, "But _I_ am the only one that has to go home this summer to it. You'll go off to your home with your parents who love you and will protect you, and so will James, Sabrina and Remus. But _I_ have to go home to my family who just _loves_ You-Know-Who. My mother's likely to blast me to smithereens if I go to Dumbledore! He can't protect me after term...only here."

James stood up to back Sirius up, and I joined him. "We need to listen to Sirius, mate, he has the most experience with this lot," I said sombrely.

Peter shook. "But...but…"

"Look, my mother may think it's only _me_ who's messed with the mirror anyway. You lot might not even be included in this at all," Sirius said, "I'll take full responsibility."

"As you should!" Peter shouted, suddenly angry, "It was your idea to go down to the dungeons and steal the mirror in the first place! I didn't want to go! I should've listened to Remus. Remus said it was a terrible idea and we did it anyway! Remus is the smart one, not you. Blimey, what a terrible idea it was, going and thieving things we don't understand!"

"Actually, it was _James'_ idea," I pointed out, furious at how awful Peter was acting, "And maybe you shouldn't have come along, you blithering baby."

Peter snapped, "I'm not a baby! I just like my neck not wrung, thank you!"

"Well go on then and keep your pretty neck," Sirius said roughly, shoving Peter away from the desk, away from the mirror, away from the three of us. "You can clear off and find new friends."

"Maybe I will!" Peter crowed. He turned and grabbed his wand from his desk, and stormed out of the room.

I sighed, and shook my head. "He'll be crawling back, I bet." The other two boys mumbled in agreement.

We were in the middle of burying the mirror in the very bottom of Sirius' trunk, where it would be safe, when Peter burst back in the room. We looked up at him, surprised at his boisterous return. Peter was gasping, likely from running up the stairs, which must've added to the look of panic he'd plastered upon his face.

"What's the matter with you?" James asked sourly.

"Lily Evans," Peter gasped, "I told her not to...but she didn't listen...I-I tried to stop her, but…"

Sirius looked up, "But what? Stop her from what?"

"She's going to tell Dumbledore," Peter gasped.

We looked at each other in surprise, before I bolted out of the room. I knew that I was the closest one to Lily, so I could be the only one to potentially convince her otherwise.

I eventually caught up with the flaming redhead on the rotating staircase. I caught her elbow, causing her to turn to me. "Lily," I panted, having run all the way down from the common room. "We need to talk."

"I haven't got anything to say to thieves," Lily replied hotly, tugging her elbow out of my grasp, "You deserve whatever punishment Dumbledore gives you for what you've done."

I scampered around her and blocked her way forward, splaying out my arms and legs to take up as much space before me as possible, "Lily, please. _Please_," I said urgently, diving to catch her as she attempted to dive beneath my outstretched arm. I'm small, but she's even more petite than I, which helped. "It isn't _Dumbledore_ who's going to punish us if you tell."

Lily glowered at me, "Of course he's going to punish you-"

"No. You-Know-Who would, Lily, not just Dumbledore!" My voice came out in a desperate hiss. I looked around us and saw a cluster of Ravenclaws coming our way. I quickly grabbed hold of her hand and Lily, seeming to be stunned by what I'd said, allowed me to pull her into an empty classroom. I looked at her imploringly, "You don't understand what's been going on around here, but there's a lot more to all this than just the mirror, alright?"

"I understand plenty," she said snobbishly, "I'm not a dolt, you know."

I shook my head, "You're anything but a dolt, and I didn't mean it like that. I meant that there's a lot of stuff I haven't told you and it's important to understand why we took that mirror and why we can't tell Dumbledore now, even though that was the original plan." I cleared my throat, "But Lily, you've got to _swear_ you won't tell _anybody_."

Lily considered for a moment. She stared at me, as if trying to find out information just by my face. "What if you tell me and it's a rubbish reason?"

I hesitated, "It's not a rubbish reason, truly."

"Then you won't mind saying that if it is, I can tell Dumbledore," Lily said.

"Fine," I said "But it isn't."

"Well go on, then," she persisted, "Tell me."

I took a deep breath. "Lucius Malfoy is working for the Dark Lord."

Lily snorted, and headed for the door, "Not rubbish, my arse…"

I grabbed her again, "Let me finish!" Lily stopped and folded her arms across her chest. "Lucius Malfoy is working for the Dark Lord. Remus saw him, and Bilius found out he was impiriusing Professor Tutman. We went down to the Slytherin dungeons a while back to investigate it and we _saw_ Malfoy talking to You-Know-Who in a bewitched mirror in the Slytherin prefects' toilet. We got caught by Filch and Dumbledore, and told Dumbledore about Malfoy, and he promised to look into it. The _very next day,_ Tutman's mysteriously disappeared from Hogwarts and Malfoy's bragging to us that _he_ got Tutman out to protect himself! Then Moody showed up and he's been looking into it all, too, but then Malfoy went and moved the mirror out of the prefect's toilet, so Moody thought we were all mental since he couldn't find it! Then we figured out that Malfoy must've _moved the mirror_ and in order to prove to Moody and Dumbledore we aren't all making this stuff up, we had to _get_ the mirror. So we stole it back from Malfoy."

Lily shook her head, "Wait, wait, wait. How was he talking to the Dark Lord through a _mirror?_"

"I dunno," I replied, "He's a seventh year and the Dark Lord is apparently the most powerful dark wizard on the planet, you expect me to know exactly what spell they used to bewitch the mirror?"

"Okay, okay, sorry," Lily ceded. "But that doesn't explain why you aren't telling Dumbledore now!"

I took a deep breath, "Because Sirius' mother found out it was him that stole the mirror from Malfoy."

"So? Once she finds out _why_ you lot stole the mirror, she won't be angry at Sirius for stealing, and she'll probably be proud of him for...why are you shaking your head no?" Lily interrupted herself as I vigorously shook my head.

"Because," I said with a sad little shrug. "His mother is one of the Dark Lord's followers, too. She hates Sirius now that he's gone and been sorted Gryffindor instead of Slytherin and that he's friends with Muggleborns like you and I."

She took a deep breath. "Alright. I won't tell anybody. But you've got to figure out a way to clear Bilius Weasley from being blamed because Lucius Malfoy's decided it was _him_ that's stolen the mirror and if you don't get him cleared it'll be Bilius who will face the wrath of the Dark Lord."

"What? _Bilius?_" I said in surprise.

"Yeah...Lucius attacked Bilius for mocking him in the Entrance Hall last night, just before he found out about the missing mirror. Bilius spent the night up in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey...Lucius blasted him right into the hourglasses with the house points. All that glass cut him up good!" My face was wide-eyed as Lily spoke, my expression moving through various stages of horror. "Then Malfoy found out about the mirror having gone missing and he assumed Bilius had known more about it than he let on and that's why he was mocking him, so he's really angry."

"Bloody hell," I whispered, "We'll have to figure something out."

Lily nodded. "Okay. As long as you fix that, I'll keep the secret for you."

"Thank you, Lily," I said. "I really, really appreciate it. Especially for Sirius' sake. And if we can figure out a way to safely tell...I will."

Lily nodded.


	38. 3rd March, 1972

"Oi, how come she'll hold a normal conversation with _you_, but hexes my bogeys into attack-bats?" James complained in a whisper as Professor Binns droned on and one about Uric the Oddball at the front of the room.

"Maybe because you oggle at her every time she comes within twenty yards of you?" I teased, nudging James in the side.

"Girls like to be oggled," James said with a shrug. "Especially by boys like _me_."

I gagged. "Oh, and...hang on, that's right, too, she thinks you're rather full of yourself. Dunno where she got an idea like _that_…" James grinned in response.

Later, after Transfiguration and lunch, we were up in the common room, still waiting for Remus to come back. James and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap while I helped explain Binns' reading assignment to a very anxious Peter, when the portrait hole burst open and Derek Bell came through, mad as a hornet. He was followed by a rather exhausted, but resignedly frustrated Bilius Weasley.

"And another thing…" Derek said, voice loud, obviously continuing a conversation they'd been holding in the hallway, "...I bloody didn't do anything at all, except keep him there to be caught! It's utter bollocks!"

"_I_ know that, mate, but I don't call the shots 'round here," Bilius said with a shrug. He sighed, "If I did, Malfoy would be on the next train back to his manor, you know that."

Sirius looked up from the game. "What happened?"

"Welcome back, Bil," I added.

"Thanks," Bilius replied, "And nothing happened we didn't half expect, anyway."

"Malfoy managed to make it sound like _we_ tried to curse _him_ first and that he was acting in self defense when he blasted Bilius across the whole bloody hall!" Derek shouted. "Lying sack of beetle dung he is."

I said, "But you didn't curse him at all, did you?"

"Didn't even try!" Bilius replied. "Couldn't have done, I had my back turned when he attacked me."

Sirius looked outraged, "That's ridiculous! How could Dumbledore not have known better? And you must've had loads of witnesses, why don't you tell Dumbledore to ask _them_ about it?"

"I mentioned it," Derek fumed, "But Malfoy pointed out all the witnesses around us were Gryffindor teammates and seeing as we're captain and prefect of the house, they're likely to say we were innocent, even if we weren't."

"But you are!" James exclaimed.

"Tell that to Dumbledore and Moody," said Derek. He sighed, "I'm going to take a nap, I'm quite fed up right now." Without further adieu, he turned and left the room, and a moment later I heard the dorm room door slam behind us.

Bilius sighed, "I dunno. Everyone's gone mental 'round this place lately." He walked over and sat down in one of the big overstuffed chairs by the fire. "I'm ruddy tired of Malfoy and his shenanigans. It's been six years of this!" He rubbed his forehead. "Malfoy hates our whole family. He was like this toward my brother, Arthur, too. Moment he saw me come through the door he started in on me. I'll never forget it, he sneered at me while I was gettin' sorted, you know, and later when we were going off to the common rooms, in the Entrance Hall, he said loud enough he was shocked our family could afford two sets of robes for me and my brother. Started mocking us because we aren't rich like his family is. Galleons are worthless when your soul's so bloody awful." Bilius frowned at his hands. "I wouldn't _want_ to be rich, if the gold makes you act like that."

"The Malfoys are dark all the way through," Sirius offered, "He's my cousin and he hates me just as much. Says I'm a _Muggle lover._"

I rolled my eyes, "I _hate_ that kind of pureblood thinking!"

"It's stupid," agreed James.

Bilius nodded, "Malfoy's the worst of them all. You know, he told Moody and Dumbledore that he had reason to believe that Derek and I had snuck down to the Slytherin common room, broke in, and stolen some personal items from his dorm? It's impossible! I couldn't have gotten into the bloody Slytherin common room...nobody can unless they're a sneaky little rat...a Slytherin, that is."

I looked 'round at the three boys nervously. "No?"

"No, of course not," Bilius explained, "The door's bewitched, you can't even touch the handle unless you're up to no good."

Peter's cheeks turned pink. "That can't be. How would a doorknob know?"

"Like I said, it's bewitched," Bilius said with a shrug, "I dunno how it works, but it's been there as long as the houses. Salazar Slytherin set it up 'round the same time he created the supposed Chamber of Secrets. It's all part of Hogwarts lore and legend, you know."

Peter looked down at his history book quickly.

"Anyway, I'm going to go up to bed, too," Bilius said, wincing as he stood up. "Pomfrey's brilliant but I'm still sore. Plus now I've apparently got a detention to serve...Derek's so angry because it's going to mess with the Gryffindor Quidditch practice." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't blame Derek for being frustrated. He really _didn't_ do anything at all." Bilius' eyes twinkled. "I'm not going to lie, I _did_ sort of egg Malfoy on." He grinned and ducked away, heading off to the stairs up to the dorms.

Sirius turned to look at us. "Blimey," he whispered.

I nodded, then turned to Peter. "So how come you could open the Slytherin door anyway?"

Peter shrugged, "I dunno. I didn't think on it. Maybe because we were all up to no good when we were sneaking around down there, both times. I reckon if I went back without ill intentions, I wouldn't be able to. Course why would I ever be there without ill intentions?"

That was a fair answer. Sirius and James turned back to their Exploding Snap game. "So how do we get Bilius out of trouble, then?" James asked.

I sighed, "I dunno. I promised Lily I'd find a way. I've been wracking my brains trying to come up with an idea, but I haven't got it yet."

Remus returned late that evening, after supper, and we filled him in on everything that had gone on since he'd left, while he ate the food that Peter had gone down to the kitchens to nick for him. Remus stared timidly at the mirror when Sirius pulled it out of the depths of his trunk to show him, and he asked, in a whisper, "Think _he_ can hear us?"

"Dunno," Sirius replied. "I hadn't thought of that."

We stowed the mirror away quickly after that.

**This chapter's a little on the shorter side, but there's gonna be a much longer one tomorrow!**

**Q&A:**

**SummerTheSlytherinApricot says, "ohhh. Things are going down. I think you are the best Marauders fanfic writer that I have encountered. You capture the characters so well. Normally James is too self-absorbed or Lily is so sweet or mean (depends on which one you read) but you have found the perfect balance. Lily is a bit of a goody-two-shoes but she knows when to keep secrets like Hermione but a bit less work-obsessed. I always love seeing when this is updated. I have neutral feelings toward Peter but whenever he throws his panic attack tantrums it annoys me lol. I really really really ship Sirius and Sabrina. They both start with S. lol.**

**qoerufqifehuhuefwip gosh, you guys are so lovely with your compliments! Any time I ever get an email that a new review has been posted my heart flutters like a butterfly. THANK YOU! And yes, I feel like many marauders fics have reduced the characters to one personality trait: James is egotistical, Lily is either sunshine and rainbows or bossy, Sirius is a rebel, Peter is pathetic, and Remus is angsty and depressed. While the characters DO have moments like this, at the end of the day people are three-dimensional beings, with mood swings (especially when you're a hormonal teenager), and flaws and positive aspects. Sure James is egotistical, be he's also totally the Mom Friend. Lily is a brat at times, but she also cares about her friends and just has a no-nonsense attitude. Yes Sirius is a bit of a rebel, but that's because he stands for what he believes him and at the end of the day he's just an abused, broken kid. Peter is a whiny lil bitch but he also brings a lot of energy to the group, and is always there with some food from the kitchens. Remus is angsty, but that's because he lives in fear of hurting someone, and also he's got a dry wit about him that SLAYS ME. Ew I've never said "slays me" before but I felt it was appropriate. And it's quite a challenge inserting another character into the mix, because the group dynamic will change to an extent. But I've tried to make Sabrina's character be one that always wants to have fun and is super carefree, but will snap someone's neck (metaphorically) if someone messes with her friends. But she's also a bit immature. So erm...rant over I guess? I dunno, I feel like I write wayyyy too much for these! **

**MyBeewing says, "Ouch. They really are harsh on Peter. And he has a point, even if telling Dumbledore would harm Sirius. Whose mum won't be happy no matter what, he'll have to face some sort of punishment, I expect...I love your plot! I've read quite a lot of fics situated in this time period, and they all seem to copy the plotline of one of Harry's school years, but yours doesn't. It's inventive, captivating and all :) Also, I really like that Lily annoys James as much as he infuriates her. His ego just couldn't handle being repeatedly humiliated. And something, don't worry about Sabrina being Mary-Sueish, you don't even have the beginning of a toe in that realm :) Now that I'm done writing about all the things that crossed my mind without transitions, I just wanted to say it was a great chapter (when isn't it) and I hope you update soon!**

**Once again, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR KIND WORDS! I published my first-ever fanfic in 2013 on Wattpad at the age of 12 years old (ew it was a Doctor Who self-insert fic where my OC was an uwu special Time Lord), and I'd NEVER have expected to get such praise on my writing before. I, too, have read WAYYY too many Marauders fanfics. There's a part of me that wonders if I should publish my original, non-fanfic poetry on this site, but idk maybe that's something for the future.**

**ANYWAY onto what you actually said about the chapter. Yeah, technically I'd side with Peter in going to Dumbledore, but the way he went about expressing his point was all wrong. The group, I think at least, decided they'd rather be in danger together than allow Sirius to suffer alone. And if Walburga Black already uses Unforgivable Curses on Sirius for just saying hi to a local Muggle, imagine what she could do to him because of this whole FaceTiming with the Dark Lord mirror debacle.**

**And hell yes to James and Lily mutually annoying each other. I LOVE WRITING THAT STUFF!**


	39. Reader Feedback!

Hello, my lovely readers! It's your author, Rose, here!

I'm curious about where you folks stand on certain aspects of the story, so I'd love it if you filled out this form! Who knows, I may incorporate the answers into my story later on!

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	40. 9th March, 1972

_9th March, 1972_

The end of term was months away, but the gears were shifting in the atmosphere at Hogwarts. The teachers were getting more serious in their lessons, dropping hints of which bits of information would be the most important for our end-of-year exams. Many students who _were_ excited for the summer began talking about the plans they were making for when they got home.

The boys and I had just left the kitchens, our bags full of different foods, when a dark blur came at us from around the corner. It wasn't until it collided with Remus that I realised it was Severus Snape. He slammed head first into Remus, and they both went sprawling to the floor, Remus' books flying every which way with almighty thumps as they hit the flagstone floor. The Slytherin must've been outside in the rain, because water was pooling around him on the floor from his soaked robes, mixing with some of the butterbeer bottles that had spilled.

"Watch where you're going, you greasy prat!" James said, scowling and rushing forward to help Remus up from the floor. Peter stood a few feet away, looking around at the broken bottles around him, aghast.

Severus scowled, "He could've done, too."

I was scrambling to pick up the bottles that hadn't shattered. "You're the one that came barrelling along like you're the only one in all the world," I said, rolling my eyes as I scooped up a couple of dropped tarts as well.

Severus glowered, "What are you lot doing down here anyway?" He demanded, suddenly suspicious.

Peter's ears went quite pink and he shoved the bag of sandwiches and food behind his back. But Severus' eyes were quick and he spotted the food and scowled, "Been stealing from the kitchens, have you?" He sneered, "Quite the little _thieves_, aren't you?"

"Are you suggesting something in particular?" Asked Sirius, eyebrows raised challengingly.

"Only that you're in a place you ought not to be, with food you ought not to have," replied Severus lowly as he dusted himself off.

"And are _you _where you ought to be?" James glared at him, wand raised and pointing directly at him.

Severus looked at James' wand and, keeping his face quite straight, he pushed the tip away from his chest with his index finger, staring right into his face. "Seeing as _my_ common room is down this way...I'd say so," he replied lowly. "Move your wand before you do something you'll regret."

"Go on," James said thickly, "Give me a reason to do it." Peter was looking quite wide-eyed, his eyes flickering between Severus and James as they faced each other in the dim light of the hall.

I put my hand on James' shoulder. "C'mon, mate, it's not worth it."

Severus took James' brief pause to shove his way past us, pulling his robes tight around him as he turned the corner and swept away from us.

James dusted off the back of Remus' robes. "Are you alright, then?" He tucked his wand into the pocket of his robes.

"I'm just fine," Remus replied, turning and taking the bottles from me. "Doesn't look as though all our drinks are though, eh?" He shook his head, "The house elves would be most disappointed." He kicked aside a bit of the broken glass at his feet. "_Reparo,_" he muttered. The glass flew back together, but was woefully empty of its contents, which was still sinking into the cracks on the flagstone floor.

I stared back over my shoulder in the direction Severus had gone, then turned and followed the other four up the stairs.

We were on our way out onto the grounds, and I laughed at the rain fogging up James' spectacles. We had another run-in, this time with a rain-soaked Lily, who nearly collided with James. He caught her by her shoulders. "Woah, there, Evans," he said jovially. "Nearly knocked you down,"

I smiled at Lily, then I saw the wetness on her cheeks wasn't merely from the rain, but also from tears that reddened her eyes. "Hang on, Lily, what's the matter?"

"I'm fine," Lily replied, tugging out of James' grasp.

Remus asked, "Are you sure? Only we've just seen Snape and he was rather upset, too…"

"You didn't tell him, did you?" I asked hastily, remembering Severus' vehement tone when he had called us thieves.

"Of course not. Not on purpose anyway. We were just talking and I mentioned summer, and he said he was going to be hanging around Lucius. Then we had it out over whether Bilius deserved the attack or not, and I told him it wasn't Bilius, told him a lie and said I'd been eating dinner with him when it happened, and he got all...odd...and suddenly had to leave." Lily sighed, "I didn't say anything about you lot at all!" Lily looked near to tears, "I'm sorry!"

Sirius shook his head, "It doesn't matter, Evans." She still looked so woeful, though, Sirius looked like he wanted to prove to her that we weren't angry. He held up one of the bottles of butterbeer and a bag full of tarts. "You want to come with us and have a snack?"

Lily sniffled, "What?"

"We've got loads of tarts and pasties," Remus expanded, catching on where Sirius was going with his offer.

"We're going to have a little picnic," I added.

"It's pouring outside," Lily said, "Absolutely miserable. I've just come from 'round the greenhouses."

James smirked, "Are you going to melt in the rain, Evans?"

"No, of course not, but I-"

"Well then," James said, pulling Peter along with him toward the door, "Are you coming?" Peter stumbled over the steps as James walked out into the rain with a big grin on his face.

Lily watched after them as Sirius and Remus scurried to follow James and Peter. She turned to me, "Are we really going to go have a picnic in the rain?"

I smiled, "Actually," I said, "We are."

James and Sirius were shouting and running across the rain-soaked grounds, their crowing laughter echoing off the castle as Lily, Remus and I followed along. Peter stumbled halfway down the hill and rolled along on his side shouting until he'd caught up to where Sirius and James had come to a stop beneath the shade of an old tree by the edge of the lake. Looking back, I could see the castle looming above us in the misty grey light, the spires hidden by low clouds. I shivered as James pulled out a blanket, which I think was one of his bed duvets. "Go on, Sabrina," he said, holding it up.

I cleared my throat and pointed my wand at it, "_Impervius_."

"What's that spell do?" Lily questioned as James and Peter spread the duvet out over the ground.

"Makes it water resistant!" I explained with a grin.

"We had to do that to all of Peter's sheets," joked James, smirking.

Peter punched his arm, "Shut it! You did not!" He looked at Lily, "They did not."

Sirius meanwhile had climbed the tree and was perched on one of the lower branches that hung over the water, straddling it, facing the forest on the far side. He cupped his hands 'round his mouth and shouted, "HULLO!" The echo that came back was magnificent and reverberated several times before fading off. He grinned, "Brilliant!" _illiant, illiant, illiant…._ "I could bloody do this all day," he laughed.

"Well you aren't," I said, "We've got food. Get down here, silly."

Peter had opened his bag up and started pulling the sandwiches he'd nicked as James dumped his bag of pasties, and I helped Remus arrange the butterbeers. "We had more butterbeers," Remus said apologetically, "But we dropped a couple coming up from the kitchens." He didn't go into detail, and for good reason. "Luckily we've got seven left so we each have one and we'll have to split the last."

"Or fight to the death for it," Sirius said as he swung down from the tree, hanging by his hands over the water for a moment before dropping down onto the edge of the grass, only just keeping his balance from falling in.

James said, "Fight to the death? I'd win a duel against you any day, Black."

"In your dreams, Potter."

"Well _I_ wouldn't win, that's for sure," Peter said, twisting the cap off his bottle as Remus handed them 'round. "I should think it would be either Sabrina or Lily."

I laughed, "Well I'm not going to be in the running, I'm fine with just the one. So I guess that makes you the winner, then," I held the extra bottle out to Lily.

She took it, but said, "I doubt that! I wouldn't win against you lot."

"You're the brightest one in the whole school," offered James, "Of course you would."

"I might give you a go if I get thirsty enough later," Sirius joked.

Lily smiled, "Oh really? And you think you could beat me?"

Sirius' eyes twinkled, "No, I doubt I could, but I'm just stupid enough to try anyway."

We then ate and laughed and talked about the teachers of Hogwarts. Remus did a marvelous impression of Professor Slughorn, while James had heard quite a lot of exciting stories from his father by owl about Professor Moody's work as an Auror. "I think Moody's bloody _fantastic,_" James said enthusiastically, "Being an Auror must be the best job in all the world. I should like to catch dark wizards myself one day…" he stood up, brandishing a breadstick as a wand, "I'd do a little of this and a little of that...I'd fill the walls of Azkaban with their ruddy hides."

I chortled, "Make a bear skin rug of ol' Voldey, would you?"

"Damn right, I would!" James grinned, "One day...I'll be remembered as the reason You-Know-Who is dead!"

"He's a very powerful wizard," Lily said, "You'll have to study hard if you want to be the one that defeats him."

James looked at her, a grin slowly spread over his face, "Maybe you could help me, Evans. Give me a spot of tutoring." He winked. "I'll be sure to mention you helped me when I'm giving my interviews."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh please."

"Perhaps with your help I could take him out by the end of term!" James boasted.

"You can't even face the bloody mirror," Sirius accused, smirking.

James said, "You couldn't defeat You-Know-Who with that thing anyway, could you?" He said with an eye roll, "Bloody mirror's useless!"

"Of course _you_ would think a mirror that doesn't show your reflection is useless," Lily said with a laugh.

We all laughed, but James didn't, his mouth quirking up a bit at the corner. "Oh and I s'pose you have a better idea what to do with the mirror, then? How would you defeat the Dark Lord with it, oh wise and all-knowing one?"

Lily nibbled her sandwich for a moment, thinking of the answer, then said, "I'd use it to trick him into apparating into an ambush."

James opened his mouth to argue but found he didn't know what to argue about. He looked at Sirius. Sirius, too, looked at a loss for words or argument, a grin slowly spreading across his face, "That's rather brilliant actually," he said.

Peter was shaking his head, "Oh no you don't. No. I know that grin. Stop planning right now."

"I'm not," Sirius said, but he clearly was. He turned to Remus and I, "What if we did that? Got the Dark Lord to apparate right into an ambush? All of us hit him with a stunner at the same time and-"

"You can't apparate onto Hogwarts grounds," said Remus, "Don't you think he would've done it by now if he could? Or that Lucius would be apparating back and forth, rather than talking to him with a mirror in the first place?"

James shrugged, "So we go off the grounds, then."

Lily's eyes widened with horror, "Okay, you lot are mad. You can't be serious."

"What better way to shut Malfoy up than to see his precious Dark Lord behind bars in Azkaban? Let the bloody Dementors deal with him," Sirius said, excitedly.

"Perhaps they'll like him so much they'll want to give him a little kiss," laughed James, puckering his lips up and smacking one onto the side of Sirius' head.

"Gerroff, I'm serious!" Sirius said, shoving James off him. "We'd be ruddy heroes!"

Peter was worrying his hands, "That would never work, ever, ever, ever…"

"Stop being such a dandy, Peter," Sirius snapped. He looked to me, "Certainly _five_ stunners simultaneously could do the trick, yeah?"

I raised my eyebrows, "Lily's right, you _have_ gone mad."

"Mad or brilliant?"

"Mad," Lily, Remus, Peter and I all replied simultaneously.

Sirius looked at James. "You don't think I'm mad, do you?"

"Of course I do, but not because of this," James replied. "It's an insane plan and it shouldn't be attempted by first years by any means, but honestly that's exactly why it might just work. You-Know-Who wouldn't ever suspect…"

"Don't go encouraging him!" Lily trilled. "You're likely to get yourselves blasted out of existence if you try it!"

James turned to Sirius, completely ignoring Lily, and asked, "Where would we have him apparate to? Where could we go that's off the grounds enough he could?"

"The forest is off the grounds isn't it? At least part of it?" Sirius suggested.

"Do the walls go all the way around it?"

"I doubt it."

I interrupted, "One problem. The forest you're talking about? It's strictly forbidden. Remember? It's literally called _The Forbidden Forest!"_

Sirius waved this fact off. "So why's it called that? It's a stupid rule anyway. What's so awful about a load of trees anyway?"

"I think it's more about what lives among the trees than the trees themselves," Peter chirped.

"Aw bloody hell, who gives a damn about all that?" James inquired, "If we're going to defeat the Dark Lord, we'd be able to handle whatever it is hiding out in there! Obviously!"

Lily said, "Will you stop with the inflated ego already? You're a ruddy first year and you struggle enough with your homework already!"

Remus nodded, "Defeating whatever's in the forest - not to mention He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named - is going to be a lot tougher than your Transfiguration assignments."

Sirius shrugged. "Transfiguration isn't that hard."

"Says the one whose rabbit tea kettle hopped out of the classroom the other day," I scoffed.

"Actually, that was mine," Peter supplied.

"See?" Sirius said, "_Mine_ broke when James knocked it off the table."

"It still had ears, though," Lily pointed out.

"We could actually do this," Sirius insisted, turning to James, "We could be the ones that defeat the most powerful wizard in all the world."

Fed up with them not listening, Remus stood up, "You are _not_ doing this. You are _not_ risking all our necks for this. You're mental!"

Sirius looked up at him.

"I agree. I'll bloody break the mirror in half before I'll let you do this!" I added, also rather furious.

James shrugged, "Breaking it doesn't stop the reflection from showing up, remember? We had that little bit and this is just a little bit of the whole thing we saw before. Obviously even if you broke it up we'd just be able to use the smaller parts."

"Then we'll blast it to smithereens so damn small you wouldn't ever find it!" Remus added.

"Blimey, Re," said James, laughing, "Relax. You don't have to go with us."

"You_ shouldn't be going at all!"_ I said.

"Yeah," Lily agreed, standing beside Remus and I and dusting off her robes, "I'll tell Dumbledore before I'll let you."

Sirius' eyes were wide. "What are you three, secret dark magic supporters?" He demanded. He pointed at Lily, "This was your idea! And you three are probably the worst off if You-Know-Who gets to power! Muggleborns and halfbreeds will be the first to go!"

Remus' face paled and he glanced wildly at Lily a moment before snapping, "You bloody git!" He turned and rushed up the hill toward the castle.

"Halfbreeds?" Lily asked.

"Ignore him." James said, rolling his eyes, "Sirius is being an idiot. It's a joke we have." He hit the back of Sirius' leg with his palm and gave him an imploring look.

Sirius' nostrils were flared with anger, but he said, "Yeah, just an inside joke is all. Bloody hell. I need a walk." He turned and stomped off across the grounds in the opposite direction.

I sighed. "I better go after him." James looked at me and Peter. "Can you two clear this up?"

We nodded, and the bespectacled boy jogged off.

I looked at Lily, as I began to scoop up the butterbeer bottles. "Well, in any case, this was lovely, Lily, thanks for coming on with us." I smiled weakly.

I was fast asleep, starlight being the only thing illuminating the bedroom, when I awoke to the feeling of something jabbing at my shoulder. I started and looked about, breathless, to find a little house elf crouched in the dark beside my bed, his great floppy ears bent low across his head. He wore a little pillowcase, embroidered with the Hogwarts coat of arms on the chest. He stared up at me timidly. "I's is sorrys, misses," the elf croaked just above a whisper, "I is being sent to wake you both." He gestured to Lily who was also awake, and we exchanged confused looks.

"Sent to wake us?" I asked, "By who?"

"The Potter boy and his friends," the house elf said, "They is finding Libby in the common room, miss, and they is telling me to come and tells you to come and sees them in the common room, by the fire, you two misses." Libby hobbled foot to foot. "I is been stroking it, misses, so it is warm for your toesies." He smiled at us, wide yellow eyes quite pleasant once you got past the shock of how huge they were compared to the rest of Libby's face.

"Thanks," Lily said, and we got ready to head downstairs. Lily put her feet into a pair of bunny slippers and tugged her pale pink bathrobe 'round her shoulders, while I chose to remain in my blue pyjamas and grabbed my grey fuzzy slippers. Libby disappeared with a crack.

Carefully, Lily and I snuck down the steps to the common room, where we found the four boys sitting 'round the fireplace, looking very serious.

"What's all this?" Lily asked.

Sirius motioned for us to sit. He was the only one standing. Remus and Peter were crammed side-by-side on the couch, James opposite the two chairs that Lily and I sat in. Sirius took a deep breath once we'd been seated and cleared his throat. "Okay, I know we've had a row between us this afternoon about this idea that Lily had for what we could do with the mirror, but-"

"We're not still on that ruddy topic, are we?" Groaned Remus, "Sirius, c'mon now mate. You can't have thought this all the way through. There's no way you're serious."

"As serious as my name," he replied, "Guys. This idea is crazy, yes, I'll be the first one to admit it's crazy, but that's exactly what might make it work. It's really a brilliant idea, given to us by the brilliant Lily."

Lily stared with wide eyes, "I was _joking_ when I said it. It wasn't a real suggestion."

"Nonetheless, it _is_ brilliant," Sirius said.

I sighed, "You're going to be killed if you even try it."

"I won't," Sirius said, "None of us will. We're going to stun him before he could even get half of the killing curse off his mouth."

Remus said, "Sirius. We. Are. First years! Our magic is not as powerful as his. Peter can barely _do_ the stunning spell. Even _you_ can resist it."

Peter turned pink.

"That's why all of us...as many of us as possible… stun him all at once. The combination of all our stunners will be enough!" Sirius said.

James said, "And his guard will be down, he won't be expecting it, remember." He looked around at us, "Guys, this _can_ work, Sirius is right. We could be famous! Famous for saving the entire world. Don't you want to be famous?"

Lily said, "Of course it's not _don't you want to save the world_, it's all about being famous and feeding your ego. You're willing to risk your life and all the lives of everyone around you for being famous!"

"I said we'd be saving the world, too," James said, "Famous is just what we'd get out of it is all."

"I don't want anything to do with it," Lily said, standing up, "Or you, at all," she added, looking into James' face. "You're all mad if you do it." She looked at Remus and I. "And _you_ two know it." With that, she stomped off up the stairs to our dormitory and a moment later I heard our door close.

In all honesty, I was quite relieved that she'd left. That meant that Lily, at least, would be safe in the Gryffindor common room, and protected. Something very deep in my stomach was glad for that.

Sirius' voice shook only slightly as he said, "I'll do it alone if I have to. If you lot don't do it with me, that's fine, it's up to you, but I'm going. I can't _not_ give it a go. I feel like...like this is my destiny. It's what I'm meant to do. But we've got better odds of it working for every additional stunner that's shot at him. Me alone...that really may not be enough. I don't know. But I've got to try."

Peter's eyes moved between the four of us nervously, shifting from one to another.

"I'm with you, mate," James said solemnly.

I gave a dramatic sigh. "We need to plan this as much as possible. This is suicide, it is, but I guess I'm in. I'm not a bleeding Gryffindor for nothing."

Remus was rubbing his forehead, "Oh bloody hell," he groaned. "This is a terrible...awful...ridiculous..._stupid_ idea." But even as he said it, his tone gave in. He looked up at Sirius, "Fine, alright. I'll help."

Sirius ran over and clapped his arms 'round Remus in a hug.

All four of us turned. "Peter?" Sirius asked.

Peter's face twitched. His lip quivered. His spine shivered. It took nearly a minute before he squeaked, "Alright…. Okay, yes. Okay."


	41. 19th and 25th March, and 1st April, 1972

**19th March, 1972**

None of the teachers could understand what made Peter suddenly start asking so many questions and trying so hard in classes. Especially Professor Moody. Moody eyed Peter with his one functional eye and licked his lower lip with interest and wonderment as Peter's marks started going up. Of course James, Sirius, Remus and I knew why. It was because Peter Pettigrew had suddenly become very, very motivated to know everything he possibly could about defending himself against the Dark Lord.

Actually, all of us were throwing ourselves quite extensively into our students in preparation for executing our plan, which we had now started to refer to as "Operation Mouldy Voldy". We had all agreed during the more extensive planning process that we needed to boost our arsenal of potential spells to fight back with, just in case He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named managed to resist our stunners (which I had no doubt he would). We'd referred to our textbooks and immediately gotten to work, practising any spells, charms and hexes that we thought might help us out in the midst of a heated battle.

The spells weren't the only thing we were working on for preparations, either. We'd found the map that James and Sirius had hoped for, the one showing the grounds of Hogwarts and where they cut off in relation to the Forbidden Forest. It was tucked away in my copy of _Hogwarts: A History_.

It was Peter who first pointed out the main problem that the map presented. "How do we know how far that is, once we're in the forest I mean, that we need to go before we reach the end of the grounds?" He asked, looking around at the four of us. "How do we measure how far we've gone?"

"Well...blimey...never thought of that, did we?" James said.

"We'll count our steps," I suggested.

So we then spent several long free periods out on the muddy grounds, walking from the castle to the edge of the forest, counting our steps as we went so that we were just a cluster of mumbled numbers as we moved in a herd from the entrance doors to the first tree, where we wrote down the count we'd gotten and proceeded to walk back, waving to Hagrid, who was out in his vegetable patch, planting.

Because of the many preparations that had come up, and my insistence that we not rush through them, we had decided to put Operation Mouldy Voldy into action in April. Sirius was antsy, though, nervous about delaying it so long and buried the mirror even deeper into his trunk, refusing to open it unless he absolutely had to, as if he was afraid that the Dark Lord might be looking back at him. If nothing else was true about the plan, it was absolutely necessary that it be a secret.

"I am very glad to see you all working so studiously," Professor McGonagall told us this afternoon, surprised to find us huddled around a table in the school library. "If you ever need any help at all with your homework, please feel free to stop by my office," she added, smiling through her Scottish accent as she moved on through the rows of books.

"If only she knew what we're really up to!" Murmured Sirius, "Doubt she'd want to help with that, eh?"

"Highly," James agreed.

**25th March, 1972**

It's the weekend before the full moon, and Remus very firmly reminded us all that we were not, under any circumstances, to go after the Dark Lord until he was back. "Remember," he said. "Promise me," he added.

"Of course we wouldn't go without you," Sirius seemed quite appalled. "When have I _ever_ done a thing like this without you, mate?"

Remus raised his eyebrows. "How about when you brought that bloody mirror back in the first place, then?"

Sirius shrugged, "That was entirely different, of course."

"How?"

"I haven't got a clue, but I'm sure that it was," Sirius answered.

But we were true to our word this time, mostly because the more firepower we packed, the more likely our success was. Remus would eventually return two days later, quite relieved to find that we hadn't gone, and we spent the evening continuing to practise our spells while he recovered from the peaky look about him that the full moon seemed to cause.

**1st April, 1972**

At Hogwarts, there seems to be no holiday quite as widely celebrated by the students as April Fool's Day. The halls were littered with boobie traps waiting to be set off and Peeves zoomed about the castle blowing raspberries and turned somersaults as he cackled out rude little rhymes. Every teacher was extra careful in picking up the essays that were turned in, afraid to get a bit of trick parchment, especially after word spread around that Professor Flitwick had regretfully picked up a scroll turned in by Bilius. The parchment popped like a firework, sending colourful sparks every which way and accidentally lighting the peak of his hat on fire.

"This is the best holiday ever," Sirius announced in the Great Hall at lunch, starry-eyed with appreciation.

James, Remus, Peter and I were still snickering at Alice Bell, whose teacup Derek had transfigured as she lifted it to her mouth, making her kiss a giant toad where she'd expected her Twinings. "You're _vile_," Alice snarled at him, scraping her lips with a napkin, desperate to clear off the frog germs.

Lily glared at Derek, "Honestly!"

"Positively brilliant," I said to the boys, quietly enough that Lily couldn't overhear me.

The pranks didn't stop there, either, they went on and on all evening. In the hallways, students were being gotten left and right, and stories of this student or that student and the faces they made when they were tricked ran through the student body like wildfire. We spent the entire day wary of everyone, careful not to become the prankees.

"Next year, we celebrate April Fool's _right_," Sirius vowed that night as we sat in the safety of the boys' dorm, hearing somebody squealing downstairs at whatever latest joke had been played. We had our textbooks out across our laps and, though Remus was still tuckered out from the full moon, the rest of us were quite full of energy, and Sirius was all talk. "We'll come up with something really legendary."

James grinned up at the ceiling. He was laying with his hands up behind his back, book propped on his knees, but barely looking at it. "We certainly would be," he agreed. "Course, by then, I 'spect we will be legends anyway," he added, nodding his head toward the trunk that contained the mirror, "Once we complete Operation Mouldy Voldy, that is."

I looked up from my textbook. "Assuming we _live_ through it."

James rolled his eyes, "We'll be just fine!"

"Get some confidence!" Instructed Sirius.

I turned back to my textbook without further comment.

I jolted awake when I heard a yell. I shook the sleep with my head in confusion of my surroundings, til I realised I was still in the boys' dorm. The puddle of drool on my textbook told me that I must've fallen asleep.

The others, too, seemed to be stirring. The room was dark aside from the moonlight filtering in through the window.

"_Lumos_," Remus said, and his wand tip lit up the room in a pale blue light. James was fighting with his glasses, trying to shove them onto his face and Peter looked panicked. But what concerned me was Sirius, who looked like a ball of sweat. I figured he must've been the source of the noise.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, his voice foggy from disuse.

I jumped from Sirius' desk, where I was seated, and went over to Sirius' bed, leaning over to look into his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked lowly.

Sirius was trying to catch his breath. He nodded, even though I wasn't sure if he was completely calmed down yet.

I laid a hand on Sirius', and James crawled to the foot of the shaking boy's bed.

"What happened, what was it? Are we being attacked?" Peter squeaked.

"Bad dream," Sirius choked.

Remus moved around the ends of the beds to come 'round and joined James and I by Sirius. "Those are the worst," he offered comfortingly. "I have them a lot, too."

Sirius looked at him. "I hate them."

Remus nodded, "As do I."

Peter clutched his blankets fearfully. "But we're alright, though?"

"Yes, Peter, blimey, it's supposed to be Sirius who's upset, not you," I said, annoyed.

"I usually dream about the full moon," Remus said with a shiver, "That I've forgotten it's full and I turn without...without being ready." He frowned, "It's my very worst fear."

Sirius' voice shook, "Mine is about my parents."

There was a moment of silence as those words filled the darkness around us. I felt as though my heart would explode with the very thought of it: parents weren't meant to be the object of someone's nightmares. They were meant to be the ones who soothe you. I remembered my mum laying cool washcloths on my forehead after I'd had nightmares when I was a little girl and I felt suddenly very homesick.

"That's why I so desperately want to end the Dark Lord's reign," said Sirius thickly, voice still shaky. "He's the reason they're so terrible. He's the one whose ruined them. And he'll ruin everything else and every other family and life he can possibly get his filthy hands on." Tears stained Sirius' face. "I don't want him ruining anyone else's life like he's ruined mine."

James, Remus and I looked at each other, at a loss for words, none of us knowing what to say.

And those words to say came from the least expected place.

"He hasn't ruined your life entirely," Peter said, "You've got us." Sirius looked over at Peter, as did the three of us. Peter was still cowering on his bed, his duvet pulled up 'round his head, framing his chubby face - a trembling pile of blankets - but he looked every solemn. "We aren't going anywhere because of him. Not ever. And...and we're going to help you destroy him."

Sirius swept his fist over his cheeks, dragging off the tears. "Thanks, Pete."

Peter nodded seriously.

I said, "Peter's right. We've got your back, Sirius. Always. No matter what."

James added, "We're going to stun that blasted man so hard...he'll never know what's hit him."

Sirius guffawed thickly through the tears that continued to fall across his cheeks, despite his attempts to stop. He looked 'round at us, "You lot are so...so dramatic."

James laughed, "Look who's talking. You may just be the most dramatic person in the entire world, Black."

"And you're the most egotistical, Potter."

James clapped his palm on Sirius' back. "I've told you a hundred times if I've told you once, mate, it's only egotistical if it isn't true!"

Remus rolled his eyes, "Alright, are we ready to go back to sleep then? We've got classes in the morning, in case you haven't forgotten."

I looked at Sirius, "Are you okay?"

Sirius nodded, "I'll be alright now. Thanks, guys."

Remus patted Sirius' shoulder and went back over to his own bed as Peter's form beneath his duvet flattened out as much as Peter's form ever could. James smiled and crawled back into his own bed, and folded his glasses onto the nightstand. "Night, boys," I said, as I gathered my school supplies and headed to my own room.

**Alright, so the next chapter is likely going to be the craziest chapter in the whole story. It's going to be in two parts :)**

**For those who are unable to access the reader feedback form thingy please PM me! is dumb and can't let people post links, so this will have to be the method, I guess.**

**MyBeewing says, "Well... that's certainly an interesting idea. Completely Gryffindor, too. I'm quite excited to read what happens next :) I just realized I haven't favorited your story yet, and I thought HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN! So yeah, sorry, believe me, I meant to do it a long time ago. Back to the chapter, well they're all together, so that's good. I must admit I hadn't expected the part with Lily getting on so well with the Marauders. I think it's cool though. I hope you update soon!**

**Well, voila, here I have now updated! And thank you for favoriting the story! In all honesty, I don't really pay attention to the favorites and follows. I'm not saying that in like a "ew, those pesky readers are BENEATH me!" way, I just write for fun and to express myself, and not because I want attention. Although I'll gladly take the favorite of course lol.**

**Also, in terms of Lily being a bit closer with the marauders, I was hoping it wouldn't be too sudden, like oh wow she's BFF's with them. She's close with Sabrina, and to an extent Remus as well (they're both in the Slug Club if you recall from earlier in the year). And this isn't too spoilery but she's actually going to become friends with Sirius somewhat soon. So I wanted to have her connections with the marauders not be random, but follow a form a logic. I guess? I dunno I just feel that when things get serious (ha Sirius) they should band together. So, erm...yeah! Hope you guys don't have too many panic attacks from the next two chapters :)**


	42. 2nd April, 1972 (Part 1)

**I'm doing the Q&A in the beginning this time because SHIT HITS THE FAN IN THIS CHAPTER!**

**Firaenial says, "Peter who declares the life of Sirius is not ruined because he can always count on him...I know what the author is trying to do here, and it hurts!"**

**Lol, YEP! I'll be honest, as much as I have concrete plans on how much of the series will operate in terms of deviating from canon...I still can't decide whether or not I want Peter to betray the Potters or not. I have really good reasons for and against it. If you guys want to share your opinion on whether you think he should still betray them or not, feel free to let me know!**

**Alright, onto the chapter...here we go, strap yourselves in!**

**Also, there's a Princess Bride reference in this chapter, whoever finds it first gets a special prize! They get to be a background character in year 2!**

Today, Sirius was antsy all through classes, keeping his eye on the movement of the sun across the grounds. I picked up on his anxiety and kept looking at him sideways in Potions.

But as worked up as Sirius was, his nerves couldn't hold a candle to Peter's. Remus was clearly trying to maintain his patience with Peter as they worked, but Peter kept knocking over vials and spilling various ingredients across the table and onto Remus' lap.

That night, during dinner, Lily sat down next to me at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. The four boys looked at her, raised eyebrows. "Yes?" asked James pointedly, "Can we help you?"

Lily's eyes darted from Peter to Sirius. "It's tonight, isn't it?"

Sirius swallowed back the nerves that seemed to have swelled up in his throat. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"What's it to you?" Demanded James.

Lily leaned forward and lowered her voice, "You shouldn't do it. Please, don't do it."

I leaned back with my napkin and swept it over my mouth, not wanting to take part in the conversation. The others knew my opinion, but I'd committed to helping out either way. A part of me _wanted_ Lily to talk sense into the others. I looked down at my plate.

"I don't think it's a good idea and...and I just really wish you wouldn't do it. Give the mirror to Dumbledore. Tell him why you're nervous about it." She was especially looking at Sirius with pleading eyes. "He can help."

Sirius frowned. "He _can_ but he _won't_. We've told Dumbledore about the mirror and it didn't do any good. He didn't do anything about it. So _we _will. And then he'll _have _to do something about it. When...when _You-Know-Who_ is here, all bound up with stunners, Dumbledore won't be able to overlook _that_."

Lily sighed. "I'm just really worried about you is all. I don't want anything bad to happen to you lot."

"Why, Lily Evans, do you give a damn about us, then?" James chortled.

Lily turned red. "Well, perhaps not _you_," she replied sassily.

I couldn't help but smirk down at my roast beef at the tone of her voice and the look on James' face.

"You could come with us," piped up Peter from the other side of Remus. "You're so good...surely he couldn't best all of us if _you_ were there, too." he looked at Lily with the most desperate expression he could muster.

Lily looked torn.

"He's right, Lil...we could really use your help," said Sirius.

"Would be nice to have a third level head around," added Remus, "Right now it's just Sabrina and I." He rolled his eyes.

I shrugged, not saying anything. The truth is, I didn't want Lily to be there. I wanted her safe, in bed, tucked up in Gryffindor tower, where whatever happened out there in the woods...it wouldn't affect her.

Lily seemed to be thinking along the same lines. She shook her head, "No...no I'm not going out there, I'm not mad, like you lot are." she stood up, "Just...just think on it. Please."

"You won't tell, will you?" Sirius asked.

"I should..." she replied, then she shrugged, "But I told you I wouldn't...so I won't. But I _should_."

"Thanks, Evans," Sirius said.

Lily shook her head, "Don't thank me. It's probably going to be the death of you all and I'll be guilty for the rest of my life for it." With that, she turned and went down the other end of the table, where Alice Bell greeted her excitedly, glancing toward us, asking what she'd needed with us.

I chewed a carrot thoughtfully as the boys ate in silence for a moment, then I said, "I'll only say it once more, and then I'll go along with everything from here on out without another word on it, but...I think Lily's right, for the record."

Sirius and James ignored this statement altogether. Remus gave me a hopeful look and a weak smile, and Peter concentrated very, very hard on spearing his peas with the prongs of his fork (haha prongs) to keep from saying anything himself.

The moonlight was pale. The common room was still. Bilius and his girlfriend had been the last two to vacate the couches by the fire. But once the door had closed on the sixth year's dorm room door, Sirius was up and out of bed. "Okay," he hissed across the room.

We'd all been laying in silence, supposedly napping so that we could be well-rested when we went out into the forest, but none of us had been able to sleep. We got up, all still dressed and James tied his trainers as Sirius and I dug the mirror out of the trunk and wrapped it carefully in a sheet, hoping to muffle any sound that the Dark Lord may be able to hear through the glass. I slipped the mirror into Sirius' bookbag and he slung it over his shoulders. Remus tore the page with the map of the forest out of _Hogwarts: A History_, and tucked it into his pocket and each of us grabbed our wands, James sweeping the invisibility cloak around us.

Downstairs in the common room, we made sure that everything was still and the seats all empty, the fire dying in the hearth, before we walked to the portrait hole. Making our way through the castle, I felt the bubbling of adrenaline in my veins and stomach, my heart vibrating fiercely in my chest. We were at the Entrance Hall before long and looking up at the looming wood doors.

We stood quite still in the front of the door, listening hard for any signs of life from elsewhere in the castle. We'd been lucky so far, having not seen nor heard any signs of Filch or Mrs. Norris or anyone else that may have been up and about...but that didn't mean that they weren't there. We listened carefully. "I think we're good," whispered Peter.

Remus lifted one finger to quiet him. "Shh," he said, straining his ears.

It took a moment, but finally we heard what Remus had… and then, within a moment, there was Lily, careening around the corner of the staircase, running down the stairs, her trainers echoing off the stone walls, her ginger hair flying behind her, green eyes wide.

"What're you _doing?_" I snapped as she reached the bottom of the stairs, "Trying to get us all caught?"

Lily came up short, surprise on her face and she looked around, "Sabrina? Where are you?" she hissed.

I ducked out from beneath the invisibility cloak, "Here I am," I said.

Lily ran across the hall, "I thought I'd missed you."

"Missed us?" James held up the cloak so that she could see the cluster of people beneath it.

"I'm coming along," she whispered.

"Oh thank Merlin," sighed Peter.

Sirius grinned, "Alright then." his eyes twinkled.

I sighed in frustration.

We shuffled about to make room for Lily to squeeze under the cloak, too, but no matter how we worked it we couldn't all six fit under without our ankles showing. But this didn't worry Sirius much. "Once we're on the grounds, nobody will see our _ankles_. From the castle it would look like a cat or something. We should be fine," he pointed out.

And so, sufficiently covered, us Gryffindor first years carefully pushed open the Entrance Hall doors, which creaked and groaned loudly, echoing off the walls, and slipped out onto the steps. We ran as fast we could from the front stairs and down the pathway, across the grounds, afraid that Filch might investigate the creaking doorway before we'd gotten far enough.

When we were nearly to the edge of the forest, we slowed to a walk, moving along until we reached the spot where the grass tapered off into the mulchy underbed of the forest. Here, in the shadow of the trees, we pulled off the invisibility cloak, having agreed that it would be far more a hindrance among the trees and undergrowth of the forest than it would be a help.

We stood side-by-side, staring up at the looming black forest.

"Are you lot ready?" James asked thickly.

"No," squeaked Peter.

"Okay," said James, "Let's go, then." And with that, we took our first steps into the Forbidden Forest.

The forest was still. Little moonlight filtered through the trees, the darkness seemed to swallow up the air beneath us. We stuck to the path as much as possible, but much of it was overgrown by brush and travelling vines. "_Lumos_," whispered Remus, holding his wand aloft so the light glowed around the six of us as we moved through the dark, illuminating exposed roots and large dips in the ground so that we could make our way forward without falling down. Besides the sound of our footsteps and nervous breathing, the only sound was Peter's muttered counting of steps, so that we would know when we had gone far enough to be officially off the grounds of Hogwarts.

We had gone about fifty-seven paces, by Peter's count, when James had made the mistake of saying, "Blimey, I don't understand why it's _forbidden_, there hasn't been a blasted thing worth forbidding it over." He no sooner had spoken those words when we heard an ominous crack in the woods to our right. All six of our heads turned to peer into the dark.

"We're all going to die," trembled Peter.

"Shut it," Sirius snapped, "And keep counting your steps." Though his voice shook ever so slightly, too.

I inched closer to Remus in the darkness, keen to stay in the circle of light that his wand gave off.

There was another crack from deep in the trees.

"Perhaps we should, er, turn off the light in a mo'," Sirius suggested. He reached for James' arm and Lily's wrist and nodded for Remus to grab hold onto Peter and I. I took hold of Lily, forming a chain. "_Nox_," whispered Remus, and the light extinguished, throwing us all into utter darkness.

The cracking became slowly louder and we clutched onto one another in the dark. As it became louder, it also echoed off itself, throwing the sound off various trees around us, making it sound as though it were coming from every direction at exactly the same time. None of us knew which way to look, which way to expect an attack from. But then, as suddenly as the cracking had started, it faded off, the noise getting further and further away until we couldn't hear it at all any longer.

"What do you think that was?" I hissed.

"Dunno," replied Sirius.

"No do I," added Remus. "But we'll have to listen closely for it to come back, just in case… _Lumos_." The little area we'd been standing in lit up once more, only to reveal Peter cowering behind Remus, whimpering in fear.

We turned and continued on. We'd been walking for some time, though everything looked precisely the same as it had before, dark and gloomy and outlined by spindly fingers of tree branches reaching across the path. The only thing that marked the distance we'd passed, besides the ache in our legs was the sound of Peter's breathy mutterings. "161, 162, 163, 164," counted Peter, his voice low, "165, 166…"

"It's not that bad here," Sirius said, "I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely."

"Peaceful," agreed James sarcastically, "I should like it a great deal better in the day."

"I wonder how old these trees are," said Lily.

"I expect as old as the castle," replied Remus. "The forest was much larger before Hogwarts was built, you know, they had to cut much of it in order to build the castle. They preserved this portion of it as part of a treaty with the centaurs."

"There are centaurs in this wood?" Peter squeaked. "But _Fantastic Beasts_ gave them an extremely dangerous rating and-"

"We'll be fine, Peter, for crying out loud, they're only centaurs!" James said, exasperated. "_Keep. Counting."_

"They're given an XXXX rating, but only because they have to be _respected_," I mumbled.

"100...er...70, I s'pose…" Peter muttered, moving away from James to the other side of Remus, glaring at him through the darkness.

Lily's voice was laced with curiosity. "What are centaurs like, anyway? Are they _really _part man, part horse?" She asked. "I should like to see one, I imagine they're very…"

"Shhh," Remus cut in suddenly. "_Nox_."

All of us came to an instant halt and clustered back-to-back quickly, looking about the dark forest. Remus had the best ears, _probably because of his wolfish tendencies_, I thought. He could hear things far sooner than the rest of us could. We stood, waiting, our palms sweaty. There was indeed something in the forest once again, not very far from us. Branches were cracking as they had been before. Then they stopped. Silence fell over the path as far as I could tell. But Remus must've still heard something, as he hadn't relaxed in the least.

After a long pause that felt like eternity, there was more cracking and crunching in the forest when a voice called out, "Is that you, Nerimai?"

"Yes," said a voice closer to us, only a metre away in the dark. I felt Lily clutch my hand behind our backs and I felt warmth tingle up my arm, even though her hands were rather clammy. I could feel every muscle in my legs tense, ready to bolt should we need to run.

There was a crunching and I saw, very faintly, a dark black shape move onto the path...tall and looming overhead...a centaur. I held my breath as the creature passed by, stepping over a large log and disappearing among the trees. "I've been looking at the stars."

"Yes?" Nerimai asked, "And what do you see, Bane?"

"The First of Thrice," Bane replied. "It begins tonight."

Nerimai's voice was low, "You read correctly."

"You have taught me well," Bane said. He paused. "Should we not look into stopping-"

"No," snapped Nerimai. "We do not interfere. We know, we observe, but we do not interfere."

"Even when-"

"No matter what," Nerimai interrupted.

Both were so quiet for a long moment that I wondered if they hadn't snuck off into the darkness, unheard.

"Come," Nerimai said lowly. "Let us go. This place is not ours alone." There was the sound of his hooves cracking twigs and leaves beneath him, and then the echo of Bane's steps following along through the trees.

The cluster of us Gryffindor first years waited until the sound of their hooves had faded off, and even then did not relax until Remus muttered, "_Lumos_," and we once more had a small circle of light to stand in.

"That," said James, "Is what a centaur is like. Are you quite happy now?"

"Well I didn't _see_ them, did I?" Lily asked snappily.

"What do you think they were talking about? The First of Thrice?" asked Remus as we started walking again.

"Dunno," I replied, "Sounds like some sort of weird holiday."

Peter was muttering numbers again, though he'd completely lost count somewhere along the way, so he simply started counting, where he could last recall having been, "166…"

Lily said, "How much further do we have to go?"

"237 paces by Peter's count," replied Sirius. "Plus an extra dozen or so to be sure we've cleared the limits of the grounds."

Lily sighed and I felt her give a small shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her shoulders, before a jumper was laid across her. She looked up and saw James, now jumperless himself, as he jumped back to his own side of the path. "Thanks," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied.

"I'll bet it's some sort of centaur version of Chanukah," I said, going back to the previous topic. "The First of Thrice begins tonight. Something to do with the stars. They worship the stars, you know, centaurs."

"They can tell the future by them, I've heard," James said, "Like divination...you know, crystal balls and all that hoo-ha."

Remus replied, "Fairly accurately, usually. Of the last twenty-two centaur predictions, twenty-one have been correct, and the last has yet to happen, according to Binns."

"Maybe we should've asked that lot to read our fortunes and tell Peter here to stop being such a baby," James suggested with a snicker.

"I'm not a bloody baby," Peter interrupted his tremulous counting.

When we'd walked the 237 paces (plus a dozen...or more given the number of times Peter had lost count), we finally came to a stop and looked around ourselves. "I see a clearing," said Sirius, and he pointed and we walked the little ways through the woods to the place where a small circular space let the moonlight flood down the way to the floor of the forest. We stopped on the very edge of the light, not quite daring to step into it just yet. Remus extinguished his wand light, and I surveyed the space. "I'd say this looks good," I said.

Lily swallowed loudly. "So...so what now? You're going to...to call him and when he appears, then we...we stun him?"

"Yep," Sirius said, "That's the plan."

James said, "All at once."

"What if we do that...and it doesn't work? What's the back-up plan?" Asked Lily, who hadn't been present for all the preparatory conversations.

"Then Peter is going to run to get Dumbledore and we're going to do our damndest to distract Voldemort until he gets here. If we can, we lure him back over onto the Hogwarts grounds so he can't disapparate away once Dumbledore arrives," replied James.

"Alright," she replied shakily.

I could feel my heart thumping in my chest like a jackhammer. Sirius took a deep breath. "You lot find hiding places," Sirius said. "Once you have, shout so I know where abouts you are and then...well, you know."

We divided up, each of us walking around in a circle. Peter took a bush closest to the path back to Hogwarts, since he was the one that would have to run back to Dumbledore should things go sour, and the rest of us ducked behind trees and brush all around a circle. "Here!" shouted Peter.

James nudged Lily as she ducked toward a log to hide, "Take the invisibility cloak," he told her.

"What for?"

"So you can hide better," James replied, holding out the silvery cloak to her.

Lily eyed the cloak for a moment, "Why don't you use it?" she asked.

"Because…" James said, "You need it more than I do."

"Here!" came Remus' voice from opposite the clearing.

James thrust it at her. "Just in case."

"Because I'm a girl?" Lily asked, "You think I need extra help because I'm not as fast or as good as you?" Her eyebrow raised, and she put a hand on her hip.

"It's not that," I called, from behind a tree "Just take the damn cloak, it's cos you didn't spend weeks preparing for this like we did. Here!"

"No, I'd like to know what _James_ is saying here," Lily demanded.

"Blimey," James snapped, rolling his eyes, "Forget about it. I was just trying to help. Don't have to bite my bloody head off. And for that matter, I'd like my jumper back."

Lily took the jumper off and chucked it. It landed just inside the circle of moonlight. "There. Have it. Go away." she disappeared into the darkness. "Here!" she yelled a moment later.

James grumbled as he grabbed his jumper and pulled it on quickly, angrily, and then dodged off behind a tree. "Here!"

Sirius took a deep breath, hands trembling, and pulled the mirror out of his bag and carried it out into the clearing so that the moonlight hit the glass and looked down into the eerily reflection-less frame. "Hullo?" he called, "Um...your um...Lordship?" He cleared his throat, "Lord Voldemort...sir?"

_Was there a magic word?_ I thought, _A phrase which would call the Dark Lord to the mirror?_

"My name is Sirius Black and, er, I'd rather fancy a talk with you."

From about three metres away, my heart stopped when I saw it. Something moved in the mirror...and then there he was...the Dark Lord...staring back at Sirius where his reflection ought to have been.

"Ah...Sirius Black…" The Dark Lord cooed, a smile spreading across his face, bending his rather nice features into a wicked grin which held more evil than humour. "I wondered when I would be hearing from you."

Sirius mustered every ounce of courage he had within him, and said, "You were expecting me, then?"

"But of course," the Dark Lord said, his high voice raspy and quiet, demanding attention. "It was only a matter of time before you returned...the prodigal son."

"Um, yes, yes, exactly," Sirius replied, nodding, "I've been just waiting for the right moment. Biding my time, see, until I could get to talk to you myself about it. That's why I stole the mirror from Lucius Malfoy. I knew he knew how to talk to you and I found out and stole it so I could tell you myself not to think less of me."

The Dark Lord smirked, staring through the glass with eyes that seemed to sparkle with...was that pride? I felt my stomach churn at the thought of it. "I could never think less of you," said Voldemort slowly, "I knew the day would come when you would reach out to me."

Sirius took a deep breath. "I've snuck off the grounds, sir," he said. "I was hoping that we could speak...in person. And...I know you've been trying to take the castle. I know that's what Malfoy's been working on. He...he told me. I'm his cousin, you see, so he confides in me. And I know about Tutman being imperiused. But I could bring you back up to the castle and we could take it over. Together. You and me and Lucius."

Voldemort smiled, his lips slowly curling. "And is Lucius there with you?"

"No sir," Sirius replied.

"So you are alone, then?

Sirius nodded.

Voldemort's eyes twinkled. "Well then," he said thickly, "As you wish."

My heart jumped so loudly I could feel it fighting to get out of my chest. This was the moment. This was it. It was coming. The mirror went suddenly dark and Sirius dropped it onto the grass. There was a flash of light and a great POP and several things happened at once.

Our six voices shouted "_Stupefy!"_ at exactly the same time from five different angles. Red sparks flew from our six wands, shooting directly to the centre of the clearing at the spot where Lord Voldemort suddenly apparated, arms raised in a V as he cast his own spell. "_Protego!"_ and the red sparks hit the shield he'd just created around himself, bouncing off, deflected, and shooting back into the trees. Sirius' spell rebounded on himself, hitting hims squarely in the chest and he fell down while the rest of us had enough warning to duck out of the way of our spells, which flew through the woods before fizzing out or striking a tree. Peter scrambled away from his bush, feet flying across the stoney path, tripping over tree roots, hitting the ground and scraping his knees and the heels of his hands, heading toward the castle.

The Dark Lord laughed, "Did you really think I would apparate without protecting myself?" He loomed, lean and tall over Sirius' stupefied body, a grin twisting in his features. "That I didn't _know_ what you were up to long ago? I could hear every word you were saying. All this time." he shook his head, "Although I will say, it is too bad that you couldn't have truly turned to join me, you've got a certain… inhibition… that is quite impressive." Voldemort stared down at Sirius. "It really is a shame, wasting all the talent you have for mischief." he chuckled, "Oh well…"

"_Stupefy!"_ shouted James as Voldemort raised his wand. The spell shot across the clearing from his hiding place and Voldemort had to dodge it to avoid being hit. But, having missed the spell, he now knew where James was, and he turned to move in the direction the spell had come from.

""Look, Sirius, your friends want to come out and play along, too," Voldemort said darkly, grinning. He peered into the forest, his eyes squinting against the darkness, moving slowly toward the place where James had shot the spell from. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he called in a sinister tone as he moved closer to the tree behind which James had taken refuge.

James quickly moved from his place, as quietly as he could possibly move through the trees. His robes caught on a branch's outstretched limbs and he tugged them free, dropping and rolling behind a rock to the right of where he'd been as Voldemort's hand wrapped gently 'round the trunk of the tree he'd just been behind moments before.

"Come now," he said, sniffing the air by the tree, "Don't be hiding. I'm not going to hurt you… much."

The Dark Lord was following the curve of the clearing, peering into the trees, surveying the dark. "I know you're here," he said thickly, "Don't be shy. Come out and save your little friend."

I knew James had to move. He shot from where he was to the next best place to hide: back to another tree trunk.

There was a tiny little squeaking sound before me, and I saw Lily, hiding behind a fallen tree, looking quite afraid. Her green eyes were wide and filled with tears.

I began working on getting closer to where Sirius lay on the grass, intent on waking him up. We needed full manpower if we were to have any hope at all of getting out of there alive. I made a point that, from now on, I wouldn't listen to Sirius' persistent claims that _everything would be fine_. Everything was not bloody fine, despite how many times Sirius had insisted it would be. The Dark Lord was slowly stalking around the edge of the clearing, staring into the trees, his back to Sirius Black. It was now or never. I darted out from between a couple trees and snagged Sirius' ankle, quickly pulling him across the grass and back into the darkness of the trees.

"Wake up," I whispered, "Wake up, Sirius. Bloody hell."

Across the clearing, Voldemort was getting closer. The forest was quite still, but he knew we were there. His eyes were narrowed to nearly slits. "Come on, little ones," he said, "Come and face the Dark Lord you were so eager to defeat."

It seemed that all sensible thought left James. He turned, pushing himself 'round the trunk of the tree he'd been hiding behind. He launched himself out into the circle of moonlight that filled the clearing, ejecting himself from the protection of the dark and the forest, into the direct line of the Dark Lord.

I nearly gasped, but put my hands over my mouth to silence myself. The Dark Lord's eyes swept over James Potter, and he grinned evilly. "Ah, yes. Potter, isn't it? You look extraordinarily like your grandfather. I went to school with him… he was a prat, your grandfather." The Dark Lord moved toward James, voice low. "Accused me of causing some trouble 'round the castle, nearly got me expelled before I managed to prove it wasn't me who was causing the trouble."

James stood still and tall, eyes locked on the Dark Lord's. I wish I had even a smidgen of his bravery in that moment. I was a Gryffindor, yes, but James was on a whole other plane. He clenched his fists as Voldemort stepped nearer and nearer. Surely by now Peter had gotten to the castle, surely by now he had altered Dumbledore and Moody. Surely they would come quickly…

The Dark Lord smiled coldly. "You're a good friend," he said, "Stepping out here where I could see you, just to defend your little friend. It's nice having friends like that...isn't it?" He paused as James took several paces backwards, away from him, toward the grounds of the school. "Would you like to meet them?"

"Meet them?" James asked.

Voldemort smiled and reached for his sleeve, pulling it up enough to reveal the skin of his forearm and a terrible black branding that seemed to have seared the skin. "Watch this." He pressed his wand to the mark and it seemed to glow red-hot, his smile only widening. At first, nothing seemed to happen. I was starting to wonder what exactly I was supposed to be seeing, but then several pops and cracks broke the night air, and one by one Voldemort's _friends_ arrived.

They were all in long robes with the hoods pulled high up on their heads, their faces hidden in shadow, except for one. A woman, whose long black hair was curly and thick and her eyes wide. She danced excitedly from foot to foot, as though she were a child arriving at a carnival, and her eyes looked upon the Dark Lord in pure adoration. "We're here, my Lord," she said in a husky, almost seductive tone, "I was the first to apparate!"

Voldemort didn't turn, but said, "Yes Bellatrix… thank you." He stared down at James, "I'm afraid, Mister Potter, that you may now be quite outnumbered."

We were, indeed, quite outnumbered. Nearly three to one.

I wondered if Peter had yet convinced Dumbledore and Moody, and if they were, even now, running back through the forest...I think we certainly needed them to come bursting out of the line of trees now, that was for sure.

Voldemort raised his arms, pointing in various directions in the woods, and several of his "friends" moved between the trees, including the black haired woman, who grabbed me. They returned moments later, each clutching one of us by the arms: Me, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and...my heart nearly stopped at the implications of it...Peter. Peter shook so hard that his teeth audibly chattered.

Despair bloomed in me. There was no Dumbledore or Moody coming to save us.

"I now have a proposition to make," Lord Voldemort said, walking slowly closer to James, who backed up once more. "And I extend this offer to each of your little friends as well," he added, turning and waving his palms at us. Sirius struggled against the tight grip of one of the hooded figures. I kicked against the black-haired woman, whose cackling laughter only added to her frightening demeanour. "Join me," Voldemort said, quietly, "And I shall guarantee your safety...I shall personally escort you through this forest, back to the castle. I will make sure that you are safe throughout the battle that shall take place tonight. You...and your little friends." Voldemort moved closer still, like a cat surveying prey.

"And if I don't?" James asked, stalling. I was trying to think of some other plan, some other way out of this mess that we'd got ourselves into, but I didn't know what to do. My magic alone was mediocre at best and there was no way any of us could defeat over fifteen qualified wizards, one of which was none other than the Dark Lord himself. None of us even had our wands in our hands, save for James. Bellatrix had mine, as well as her own stuck up in her messy hair, and the others' wands were clutched in the teeth of their captors. Peter was crying and would be utterly useless by this point even if the man holding him steady were to let go.

Peter had been right all along. We're going to die.

"If you don't…" Lord Voldemort's voice was cold and hardened as he spoke, "Then I am afraid that we shall have to kill you. Which is most unfortunate, given the amount of magical blood that would be spilled...two pure bloodlines broken, no less...precious blood…" he turned and looked at Sirius, Peter and Remus, before sneering at Lily and I, "Although, I must say, I wouldn't mind killing the nasty little Mudbloods."

The word _Mudblood_, when spoken by Lord Voldemort, seemed the most vulgar, dirty, disgusting word that had ever been spoken. I felt like I had died right there and then.

James was furious and the words came erupting from him like fire, roaring out of him in a passionate heat, "You're vile! You are _evil_, and you won't win! You won't win because good _always_ triumphs in the end. Always. Maybe not right now, maybe not tonight, but eventually goodness will defeat you and you'll be nothing, remembered only as a foolish old man who tried to take over the world and failed. Join you? No. Do you hear me? NO! I won't ever join you...you prejudiced old wanker!"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, James' face flushed as hot as the sun, his cheeks burning.

Sirius crowed, "Nice once, James!"

Voldemort's eyes were narrowed to slits. The Dark Lord was no longer playing games - his voice tight with hatred. "You defiant little fool," he snarled. "Now. You'll pay." He raised his wand and shouted, "_Crucio!"_

James fell to the ground, every muscle in his body spasming. He shuddered and trembled, quaking on the grass in the moonlight. Voldemort laughed, his laugh echoing in my ears terrible and full.

I felt my throat tighten. My friends were now suffering. I could barely stand it.

"Stop it," I cried from Bellatrix's arms. "Stop it. _Please_ stop hurting him!" I was shrieking, my voice echoing off the trees. "_PLEASE!"_

Voldemort lowered his wand and James instantly stopped convulsing on the ground, though he lay quite still, panting, tears in his eyes, shaking still from the aftermath of the pain. Voldemort stepped toward me quickly, advancing like a dark wind, and clutched my chin, turning my head to look up at him. Bellatix's laughter pitched. The Dark Lord glowered into my eyes. Anger flashed in them so brilliantly that I felt as though I might just burn up and turn to ash in how they stared into my soul. "Would you rather it be you instead?" he hissed.

"Yes," I said without so much as a stammer. "Don't waste your energy on the pureblood."

"Sabrina, no," Sirius choked. "No, you don't know what it's-"

"QUIET!" Snarled Voldemort. He looked at me curiously, his eyes wide in surprise. He tilted his head, like a dog. "The Cruciatus Curse is extremely painful," he told me, "They say...if it is held long enough… that one would lose their minds completely."

I kept my face quite straight, though tears poured over my cheeks. "I. Don't. Care." I choked.

"I think you would care once you felt its effects," Voldemort hissed, putting his face even closer to my own.

I shook my head as best I could.

"In that case," whispered the Dark Lord, and he raised his wand…

"_Crucio!_"


	43. Sabrina Stratford and the Forbidden Boy

_The First Night:_

James suggested that shades were working. "I'm pureblood," he grinned.

"Yes! God, that's exactly what I assumed! " Sirius snorted.

It was a golden detention today at Hogwarts. I felt filled with excitement as I worked on the carpet in the Hospital Wing.

"Why don't we all jump in surprise for Lily? " Remus Lupin asked.

Peter managed to sleep through our conversation.

"I don't believe anybody wants Minerva to get through our cauldrons! " Sirius exclaimed from behind Peter, wanting to make it twenty minutes of Gryffindor brooms. I could smell my mum 's cries.

"Do you fancy my mum? " I whispered. "The dark lord came down pathetically on her. "

"Well bloody hell, which Sirius is wrong? " James demanded.

"The one with long blond hair streaming outside against the castle! " Remus pointed to the pile of hair with a wave.

I was looking wide enough to fall over, unconscious.

_6th October, 1950s _

It was still alive: the Gryffindor Seeker 's voice rang sharply from within James and Sirius wolfed down a Muggle police investigator. Bilius Weasley eventually joined us when I waved him over. "Floo network access will be limited against witchcraft stars! These Slytherins booed endlessly! " He yelled.

"Well bloody Map Boy and I gave Sirius that gumball...so _sorry_, I guess I've got a potions textbook! " I roasted back.

Lily overheard eleven hands accordingly fluttering about. She turned and glowered at James because he was a microphone. Romance was still going as expulsion novels present politics.

Dumbledore clapped excitedly behind Professor MGonagall. "What a kind smile I have. Let us sit between Hufflepuff and Peter."

And it was quite speechless.


	44. 2nd April, 1972 (Part 2)

**Oooook, I probably owe you readers an explanation for that last chapter. In short...APRIL FOOL'S! **

**Has anyone ever read "Harry Potter and the Portrait that Looks Like a Large Pile of Ash"? It's basically an experiment where this guy used a text-predicting AI. He pasted all the text of the Harry Potter books into the AI, and created a strange and bizarre AI-generated chapter of Harry Potter. It's hilarious, I recommend you check it out. But essentially, I did the same thing, and used the same programme. I just wanted to pull a little joke, and of COURSE April Fool's came the day after the only time I've used a cliffhanger, muhahaha!**

**I think I'm going to permenantly have the Q&As be at the beginning of the chapter now, I feel like tonally it would make more sense. Especially if a chapter ends super seriously, it would be weird to be immediately taken out of that emotion by me answering a question from a reader bubbling about uwu Sirius is so hawt.**

**Also, there's only two more chapters left of first year after this! Can you believe it?**

**So here's the Q&A:**

**Firaenial says, "The first of thrice!? Oh I know what you did here! 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who thrice defied him' You're a genius, really!"**

**Thank you SO much! Yeah, I wanted to sprinkle a little foreshadowing in there. It's a delicate balance between subtly foreshadowing and just throwing HEY THIS HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE in your face.**

**MyBeewing says, "Suspense, suspense...PLEASE UPDATE SOON! I want to know what happens! They really should have realized something like this would happen, though. But then again, they're only 11. Also, ouch. I wouldn't want to be in Sabrina's or James' place right now. I wonder how they'll get out of this mess...which leads me to saying please update soon! Again. You can build the tension almost perfectly, you know. You write really well. As for what happens after they are saved by Dumbledore (it's the most logical course of action, I don't think any of them are going to die yet) I suppose there's going to be a lot of yelling, I'm-very-disappointed stuff, right? Anyway, great chapter (even if the ending is annoying since I am NOT a patient person and I have to wait to find out). I REALLY hope you update soon!"**

**Hahaha your reviews crack me up...yes there is something to be said about the stupidity of an 11 year old. I'd like to think it's mainly Sirius and James that are being rather stupid, as the others had expressed their reluctance to join them. But yeah, the trauma is only just beginning for this group, unfortunately. Thank you for your kind words! And don't worry, Minny will dish up plenty of disappointment their way!**

**A guest says, "Roal Dahl's Matilda wasn't published until 1988. You're about 18 years too soon to reference it."**

**SHHHHHH. They're referring to one of the first chapters where Sabrina is inspired by Matilda to try and levitate something (be honest, we all tried that as a kid), only to have it actually work. This world isn't entirely accurate, whether it's our world or the Harry Potter universe. I've changed loads of things. The Malfoys and Blacks are only related AFTER Lucius and Narcissa Marry. Andromeda was a Slytherin. Derek and Alice Bell likely never existed. Bellatrix is younger in canon than she is in this story. The Marauders don't find out about Remus' lycanthropy til second year. Let me have my Matilda reference because that book SLAPPED!**

**Lara Barnes says, "Such a huge cliffhanger! Still loving the story and can't wait to find out what happens next! I found the reference by the way: 'I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely'. Such a good movie!"**

**YAY! You got the Princess Bride reference! Dingdinging, you've won a prize! DM me the information of your character (or YOU) and I shall make them a background character in my story :) they're going to be in the year underneath the marauders.**

**I'll need their name, gender, hair color, eye color, physical build, house, and any other things or traits you want to share!**

**Alrighty, that's enough housework for now, onto the chapter!**

"The Cruciatus Curse is extremely painful," Voldemort told me, "They say...if it is held long enough… that one would lose their minds completely."

I kept my face quite straight, though tears poured over my cheeks. "I. Don't. Care." I choked.

"I think you would care once you felt its effects," Voldemort hissed, putting his face even closer to my own.

I shook my head as best I could.

"In that case," whispered the Dark Lord, and he raised his wand…

"_Crucio!_"

"_Protego Maxima!"_

Two jets of light shot from two different wands. The Shield Charm was slightly faster than the curse, and the jet of red light bounced off a silvery white orb that had shoved its way between Voldemort and I. Several of Lord Voldemort's friends had gone pale and one had even disapparated, releasing Remus, who fell to the ground in surprise from his sudden freedom.

The Dark Lord spun about, panic in his eyes, recognising the voice..as did we.

"Good evening, Tom," said the warm voice, cheerful around the edges but hard in the centre. It was Dumbledore, stepping from between the trees, his magenta robes moving silently about his feet. Behind him by only a few steps was Professor Moody, whose good eye swiveled about the circle. Another of Voldemort's friends disapparated when Moody looked at him. "I must say I am rather surprised to see you here," Dumbledore continued, "To what do we owe this visit?"

I felt a rush of relief run through me. Despite Voldemort still remaining with several of his friends around him, I knew we'd be alright now. We had to be. Dumbledore had arrived, and by the expression on his face, it was quite evident that he meant business.

Voldemort smiled, "I suppose you owe it to these _delightful_ little first years," he answered, waving his palm about the circle. "They summoned me, you see. Requested my presence, even. Since when do you allow students out onto the grounds in the dead of night?" he sneered, "Don't you remember how dangerous that was...how much _trouble_ students get into in the darkness of the forest?"

"Oh yes," Dumbledore replied, "I remember quite well." He nodded, "But much like the times when you were a student here, Tom, I am afraid that these students were acting of their own volition as well." Dumbledore rocked on the balls of his feet. "You'll forgive me, of course, for not knowing they were disturbing you. You see, they never told me of their plans."

Moody had knelt beside James and cast a spell that returned some strength to him, though he was still shaky in the knees from the pain that Voldemort's spell had set upon him. He stood awkwardly beside the Auror and tried to regain his breath. Moody placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"I _did_ see a bit of a rebellious nature in them," replied Voldemort cooly.

"Defiant little _brats,_" hissed Bellatrix into my ear.

Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, well, it is what it is. Now, Tom, if you could please release my students, and we'll return to the castle, I should most appreciate it."

Voldemort sneered, "Stop _calling_ me that."

Dumbledore's smile didn't falter in the least. "But it is your name."

Voldemort raised his wand menacingly, and the moment he had, so had Dumbledore, and Moody, too, and Bellatrix's shrieky little laugh halted instantly, silence ringing through the forest so loudly that it felt nearly tangible. "Now Tom," said Dumbledore coldly, "I did not come here to fight you, I came to collect my students. Release them."

Voldemort seemed to consider the situation, and sized up Moody and Dumbledore, his eyes flickering about the circle. Even though he clearly outnumbered Dumbledore, even if you included us kids, he still didn't seem sure that he could easily defeat us. As though to emphasise the point, there came the sound of shouting and footsteps in the woods beyond and with a sharp motion, Voldemort signaled for his friends to drop us.

"But _master,_" pleaded Bellatrix, "I so wanted to play with this little Mudblood here."

"Leave _it_," growled Voldemort. "For now," he added.

Pouting, Bellatrix threw me down, and I collapsed onto the ground, tearing my robes and bashing my left arm on a rock, landing beside Sirius, who was on his hands and knees. The adrenaline was seeping into my stomach, making me quite nauseous.

Between the trees suddenly appeared the large form of Hagrid, followed by McGonagall, Viridi, and Madam Pomfrey, their wands all illuminated. Hagrid was armed with a large crossbow, his huge boarhound at his side. They came up short directly behind Dumbledore, and McGonagall's eyes flashed between us first years, seeming to count us, to be sure that we were all there.

Voldemort backed away slowly, eyes on Dumbledore firmly locked, and hissed, looking directly at James, "This isn't over." and with that he disapparated with a crack. The remaining followers did, too, although Bellatrix sneered at me fiercely and her face clearly echoed the words Voldemort had said before she, too, disapparated.

Silence filled the clearing.

Peter whimpered as he stood up, favouring the ankle he had twisted while running away blindly.

Lily's knee was bleeding right through her stockings. Sirius seemed physically fine, but his eyes were unfocused as he seemed to process everything that had happened. Remus couldn't look the teachers in the eyes, he was too ashamed. My knees were wobbly, and I had dark bruises all along my left arm the size of pancakes. James was still panting from the recently receded pain of the Cruciatus Curse.

Madam Pomfrey leaped forward and reached for Peter's ankle.

"_What_ were you _thinking?!_" McGonagall wailed, her voice quivering with fading fear and astonishment at what we'd done.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore calmly, "We shall wait to discuss what has happened until we are able to return to the castle." He looked around at us. "Poppy, I trust you can heal Mister Pettigrew's ankle?"

"A bit of skele-gro potion will do the trick, I've a supply of it back at the castle," Madam Pomfrey answered.

Dumbledore looked to Hagrid, "Would you mind, Rubeus?"

"Not a'tall, Professor Dumbledore, sir," Hagrid said lowly. He swung the crossbow onto his back and bent down, sweeping Peter up from the ground and into his arms.

We were about to leave the clearing when I noticed James spot a hand mirror on the ground. The Dark Lord's part of the mirror, it seemed to me. He scooped it up and slipped it into his pocket before we left the clearing.

I felt utterly horrid. I barely registered what was happening as we began the walk back to the grounds. If it had not been for Dumbledore, we could have all died in the Forbidden Forest.

Sirius looked like he was possessed by a ghost, so I came up beside him. I reached out my good arm to take hold of his hand. "Are you okay?" I asked.

Sirius nodded.

"It's not your fault," I said quietly.

"Yes it is," Sirius replied.

I whispered, "We all chose to come along. Any one of us could've said no. We _chose _to go with you."

"I talked you into it," he said thickly.

"We all make mistakes," I replied with a shrug. I squeezed his fingers, "You made a mistake, that's all."

"Some mistake," muttered Sirius. "It almost killed all of us."

I said, "Yeah...but the evil that exists in this world isn't your fault."

Sirius' hands grew sweaty. "The guy holding me back there? That was my father."

I clenched my fingers tighter in surprise, though I somehow managed to hold back the sound of surprise that had fought to escape my throat. "Your father?" I asked. "How d'you know? They all had cloaks...maybe you're mistaken…"

"No," Sirius replied, "I saw his eyes, when he threw me down. I'm not mistaken. I know it was him."

"You have to tell Dumbledore," I said quietly.

Sirius shrugged. I kept holding his hand until we'd stepped out from the woods and onto the wide lawn of Hogwarts.

There, we were led up into the castle and Madam Pomfrey hustled us up to the Hospital Wing while Dumbledore instructed Moody and McGonagall to meet him in his office. "I will be there in just a moment," he told them. He followed us and Pomfrey to the Hospital Wing and saw us put into beds.

While Madam Pomfrey collected various potions and bandages for our various cuts, bruises and sprains, Dumbledore stood before our beds and ran his hand absently down the length of his beard, a great sigh spilling forth that seemed to have come from deep in his soul. "We shall need to talk, of course, once you're all feeling a bit better, about exactly what happened out there tonight," he said quietly. "Perhaps in the morning. For now, I think it is important that you rest," He looked around at us,"You were all very lucky tonight."

"How did you know where to find us, Professor?" James asked.

Pomfrey came back, a bottle of Skele-gro in her hands and a spoon, and she started doling out the prescribed serving for Peter's broken ankle. He made a face as the potion made its way down his throat.

Dumbledore replied, "Severus Snape told me."

"Snape?" I said, surprised, "How did he know?"

Lily's eyes widened.

"I do not know," Dumbledore replied, "Now all of you, get some rest, and I will speak with you tomorrow morning after breakfast."

After Dumbledore had left, Madam Pomfrey finished administering our potions and bandages, and then slipped out of the wing as well, turning off the light and locking the door behind her so that only the moonlight lit up the room. We all laid in our beds, staring up at the ceiling, in silence, thinking over the events of the night. Scenes flashed through my mind as I processed everything that had gone on.

Suddenly, Remus began to laugh.

"What's the matter with you?" asked James, sitting up and looking over at Remus' bed.

Remus' voice quivered with amusement, "I can't believe you called the Dark Lord a _wanker!_" He wheezed.

Lily started laughing too, and so did I, and Peter, and even Sirius. James chortled too, grinning as he slid his arms up behind his head as he leaned back into the pillows. "That _was _rather good, wasn't it?"


	45. 3rd April, 1972

**OH MY GOODNESS! It's the second to last chapter! I can't believe it!**

**Q&A:**

**MyBeewing says, "So, Snape saved them, then ? It won't sit too well with James or Sirius :) Good one, by the way, for April's Fool, you really had me there. My PE teacher sent my group a false article basically saying that the end-of-the-year PE exam would be a fortnite tournament, but I wasn't as gullible with that one. Poor Sirius, having his own father not care wether he's harmed or not. And he's going to feel really guilty for some time, I expect. But he'll have his friends with him, at least. I wonder if Lily will stay friends with the Marauders still ? Well, I'll have to wait to find out ! It was a great chapter, I hope you update soon :)"**

**Yes, Snape ****_did_**** technically save them. However, as you'll see in this chapter, he probably wouldn't have cared if the others died, as long as he saved his precious Lily. And yeah, Sirius has REALLY been given the short end of the stick when it comes to parents. I don't want to reveal anything about the nature of Lily's relationship with the marauders, but I will say she'll be a little less harsh on them. Emphasis on a LITTLE.**

I was so exhausted from last night that I didn't move when the boys went down to breakfast. I just closed my eyes and took in the serenity of the near-empty Hospital Wing around me. Madam Pomfrey said we could leave whenever we liked, so I took advantage of the peace.

I heard the door open, and Lily cry in happiness, "Sev!" I internally groaned, and pretended to be asleep. I vaguely wondered how Snape had found out about our plan, so this could give me information.

Lily spoke first, "Dumbledore said that you were the one who told him what was happening last night. How did you know?"

There was a pause, where Severus didn't reply.

"You were looking at my mind, weren't you?" Lily asked gently. I froze. _He can read minds? _I instantly tried to think of random thoughts, to try and convince him that I was dreaming, and I heard him breathe a sigh of relief.

"What then?" Lily demanded, "How could you have possibly known?"

Severus sighed again, "Yesterday, at lunch, I saw you...sitting with...with _them_," he said. "I couldn't stand it, I just hate when you sit with them! It burns me up, I get so _jealous_, Lily. They don't deserve your company, they're a bunch of bullying gits! Especially _Potter_...the way he thinks about you...it infuriates me! And I...I can hear _his_ brains so clearly it was like they were broadcast about for the entire world to know." I felt nauseous. Did Snape ever look into my thoughts? Into _Remus'_ thoughts? I began to panic a bit as I feared we could never have secrets again… never have _privacy_ again. "But it was Stratford's thoughts here that concerned me." It took everything I had to keep my mind blank, so he wouldn't suspect anything. "She was worried about you, thinking how she'd rather you didn't get involved, afraid of what would happen if you did...and then relieved because you didn't want to be. And I wondered _involved in what_, they're _never_ up to any good, after all. And, well, I didn't give much of a damn if you weren't involved, so I only paid half attention to her thinking. All I got of it was that it was dangerous and involved the Forbidden Forest...I wanted to tell Dumbledore, but I didn't know how to tell him what I knew. I didn't want to tell him about my ability."

Lily asked, "Well, then, why did you tell him?"

"Because I woke up during the night feeling utter panic and I realised I was hearing _Potter _again, and he was afraid. For YOU. And that's when I realised that you _were _out there. And he was thinking about the Dark Lord and what would happen if the Dark Lord caught you and…" Severus stopped. "I told them you'd told me about it and I'd thought you were just kidding until I'd seen you go."

The thought of Severus knowing so much made me queasy. "Thanks," Lily said, "You saved all of us by doing that. We didn't know what we were getting into. It was so scary, Sev! He's awful, you should have seen him, he's just _awful_. You're really a hero, Sev,"

"I'll be your hero anytime. Always."

I heard the sound of a forehead kiss and I felt like I was about to die. I selfishly wished I was back in the forest about to be _Crucio'_d by Voldemort, than face the whirl of negative emotions that flooded my brain.

"Listen," Lily said, "You'd better go. I should wake her up and get to the Great Hall, we should eat something and then we're all supposed to go talk to Dumbledore about what happened. I'll see you, though, okay?" Lily asked.

"Okay. Bye." I heard the sound of the door close, and Lily gently put her hand on my shoulder to shake me awake.

When I joined the Gryffindor table, Lily actually sat with the boys and I, rather than her other friends. Remus was in the middle of talking about the shield charm Dumbledore had cast the night before, and how he'd read about it in a book he'd found on a little shelf in the Hospital Wing: _Origins of Spells_ by Bathilda Bagshot. "There you two are," he said as we settled ourselves, and I fixed myself a bowl of cereal. "When Dumbledore cast that charm...could you feel it?"

I shook my head, "Not really. I was too scared for what You-Know-Who was about to do," I replied.

"Be glad he didn't get to use the Cruciatus Curse on you," said James darkly.

"I'm...quite glad," I replied. I eyed James a bit, interested in knowing that he had been worried enough about Lily that he'd woken Snape up out of sound sleep.

"_That_ spell has a rather interesting background, too," said Remus, "It's a curse of course, but curses are nothing but charms, really - charms change the effects of something, transfiguration changes the properties of it, you remember…" and he set off in a long-winded explanation of what he'd read about the Unforgivable Curses in books as he'd laid awake in the Hospital Wing last night.

We'd just finished breakfast - Peter was even finished with his incredibly tall pile of sausages and toast - when Professor McGonagall came up to the table, a serious look on her face. "Come along, you lot," she said, "I'm to take you to the Headmaster." She swept us along before her. As we walked through the corridors and up the stairs on our way to Dumbledore's office, she said, "Now whatever the Headmaster has to say to you, I hope that you take it very seriously! Remember you're representing all of Gryffindor, and it is simply unacceptable to be wandering about the castle, stirring up trouble!"

"Yes, Professor," we muttered.

When we reached the stone gargoyles outside of Dumbledore's office, McGonagall said, "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum!" The gargoyles jumped out of the way and she muttered something about _ridiculous_ _passwords_ as we crossed through the threshold and onto the magical staircase.

"This is cool," whispered James to Sirius, as they admired the rotating stairs as we ascended through the castle. I had forgotten that Remus and I were the only ones in our group who had been to Dumbledore's office before. Even Peter and Lily were excited about the staircase, looking around in awe as we were carried to the tippy top of the tower, where the Headmaster's door loomed before us. I smiled at the old Wellingtons and umbrella at the door.

McGonagall knocked on the door, looking tartly across us, though a flicker of apology for delivering us to our punishments lingered in the edges of her irises.

"Come in, come in," called Dumbledore from within. McGonagall pushed open the door, and we walked inside, apprehensive and nervous, to find Dumbledore, standing behind his desk, a little smile playing upon his lips as he looked us over. "And here they are," said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling, "The marauders themselves!"

McGonagall waved us into our seats before Dumbledore's desk. Sitting in one already was the Auror, Alastor Moody, leaning onto the elbow of his seat and rubbing his chin thoughtfully as we set ourselves down, his one eye examining us. Professor McGonagall sat as well. Moody leaned back in his seat as Dumbledore magicked a tea set onto his desk. Moody pulled a flask out of his robes and said, "You understand, Albus," as he unscrewed the cap and took a sip of whatever it was inside.

I had a feeling that it wasn't pumpkin juice.

We each took our teas - Peter's cup clattered nervously against the mismatched saucer - and we sipped, waiting for the punishments to begin. I felt sick rather suddenly. It wasn't normal for the headmaster and _two_ professors to be present to assign detentions, I realised, and I worried that we were all about to be expelled._ Had a house's entire year ever been expelled at once? _I thought. What would my parents say when they found out that I had been expelled in my first year at the new school? They'd be so disappointed in me...let down when they no longer had a witch as a daughter. I didn't want to be expelled! I love Hogwarts far too much, and I'd miss my friends.

As though reading my mind, which I had had more than enough of, Dumbledore stated, "I won't be expelling you."

We sighed in relief.

"_This time_," Dumbledore added after a moment. He casted a glance at us through his half-moon spectacles, stern, but in a caring way. "What you did last night was very dangerous, you were far over your head and could have been killed. You are all lucky that Voldemort likes to...play with his food," he said.

Moody grumbled, "Tormenting's his favourite part of the kill."

I felt my mouth go rather dry at the word _kill_.

"You all owe Severus Snape quite a lot for having come to me," Dumbledore added.

James hung his head.

"As such, I have awarded Slytherin house with fifty points." Dumbledore said, "For honesty and looking out for one another, among houses." McGonagall's jaw quivered slightly. "This puts Slytherin in first place for the House Cup with only a short time left in the term."

I frowned. Before, Ravenclaw had been in first and Gryffindor second - putting us impossibly behind. Now there'd be no way for Gryffindor to catch up.

Dumbledore sipped his tea, then put down the cup and saucer. "I think, however, that what bothers me the most about this entire occasion is that you didn't _come to me_ with your worries, that you chose to act instead upon yourselves."

James and Sirius both looked up quickly, their eyes wide. Remus, Peter and I looked 'round at them, knowing what was going through their minds. "We _did_ tell you about it, sir!" Shouted Sirius, the first to wrap his mouth around words. "We told you back at the start of the year, remember? I even gave you a bit of the mirror and you didn't _do_ anything about it!"

"Didn't do anything about it?" Dumbledore asked, his eyebrows raised, "Why would you think I did not do anything about it?"

"Because Lucius Malfoy was strutting about the castle as though he owned it," I spoke up, "Attacking Bilius Weasley and bragging to whoever would listen how he'd got away with imperiusing Professor Tutman!" I'll admit, this was a bit of a stretch of what had actually happened, but the exaggeration seemed warranted.

Dumbledore rubbed his beard. "I must be quite mistaken in my understanding of what you believe should be categorised as having done something."

Moody leaned forward, "Do you lot think I came here on my own volition, then? Just out of the blue had the urge to become a professor of the Dark Arts to a bunch of disobedient little rugrats?" He rubbed his nose, shaking his head.

"Well I s'pose you did alright there, hiring an Auror for the Defense teacher," I admitted, having forgotten that's why Moody was there in the first place, "But...sir...why is Malfoy still _here_ if you know he's working for the Dark Lord?"

"Ah, but we do not _know_," replied Dumbledore. "It is something which we have been investigating."

It was James who exploded this time. "But you _do_ know! We told you, months ago!" He stood up, he was so impassioned, though he sat quickly with a simple glare from Dumbledore.

"Accusing someone of being a follower of Voldemort is a _very_ serious business, Mister Potter," said Dumbledore. "It requires observation from the Ministry of Magic - hence, our visitor, the Auror - and leads to a cell in Azkaban. It is far more involved than receiving a detention from the headmaster of a school or even an expulsion. It entails a trial in the courts of the Ministry and for that trial to be won, there is need of evidence and witnesses...witnesses who are not first years at Hogwarts," he added, when he could see that we were about to speak up again. Dumbledore looked at us imploringly. "I am not ignoring your advice, nor do I doubt your claims. But these things need to be done quietly and delicately. Unfortunately, the visit you've made in the woods with Voldemort has made the job so much harder. Now, what we must do-"

Before Dumbledore could tell us what we must do, however, there came a voice from behind him, in one of the portraits. "Sir! Dumbledore, sir!" The subject of the portrait was quite out of breath and leaned against the edge of his frame, panting. "Urgent messages, from the Minister."

Dumbledore turned to look at the portrait. "Yes, Rupert?"

I vaguely recognised the portrait as Rupert Candor, who had been described in _Hogwarts: A History_ as being Headmaster a century ago, followed by a brief time as Minister for Magic and, as a result, his portrait hung in both offices and he frequently runs messages from the Ministry to the Headmaster. He cleared his throat and recited, "Adom Tutman has been found, sir. Dead. In Egypt. The Minister requests your presence in the wake of this shocking news to gather more details about the Professor's resignation." Rupert looked about impatiently.

"Of course," said Dumbledore, though his wooly eyebrows were raised high above the half-moon of his spectacles. "Tell the Minister that I shall finish with the matter at hand and be along in just a few moments," he requested. He turned back to us.

"_Dead?_" gasped McGonagall, her face quite pale. She put a hand over her mouth, and her eyes welled up with tears. I've never seen the sheer rawness of her emotions like this before, and I'd give her a hug if it wasn't inappropriate.

Moody scowled, "Destroying evidence," He looked over at us students. "Any of you mention Tutman to You-Know-Who last night?" he demanded.

Sirius' face turned red as he stared down at his lap.

Moody looked up at Dumbledore. "There you have it," he said without saying a word to Sirius.

Dumbledore took a deep breath. "This is why these things need to be done quietly. Innocent lives could be in danger of destruction if we point fingers too soon." He looked over each of us carefully. "I fear most for you six, and for the life of Lucius Malfoy."

Sirius' words were cold, "Malfoy deserves whatever comes to him."

"Until very recently, Mister Black, your family had just as strong a hold on you as Malfoy's has on him," Dumbledore said quietly, "I see you have forgotten how powerful a parent's influence can be upon their children." Dumbledore said, "I will be taking measures of protection for each of you over the summer break, to be sure that you are all safe and-"

"The Dark Lord could be trying to _kill_ us?" squeaked Peter, eyes wide.

Dumbledore frowned. "It is precautionary,"  
Peter put down his teacup, his hands shaking, and wrapped his arms very tightly around his pudgy little body.

"Now, I must go - the Minister is expecting me, as you know. Alastor, I'll request that you come along with me to the Ministry," Dumbledore began collecting his things.

I blinked in surprise. Dumbledore was leaving? He wasn't punishing us? I looked 'round at Remus and Lily, who seemed just as shocked as I was at this revelation. But then Dumbledore said, "Professor McGonagall shall assign your detentions as she sees fit."

"Yes, headmaster," McGonagall replied sharply, though her cheeks were still damp from the news of Professor Tutman's death.

"Very well," Dumbledore said, "Let us part."

McGonagall quickly shooed us out of the office. In the end, she assigned us detention each day after dinner for the entire week, which we would serve in her Transfiguration classroom. She sent us off to our dormitory: "You are not to be wandering about the castle, you've done enough of that to last a lifetime," she scolded.

On the way back to Gryffindor Tower, we were rather quiet until Sirius said, "I recognised some of his followers. My cousin Bella and my father."

Peter, James, Remus and Lily looked 'round at Sirius in surprise. He hadn't yet told the four of them about seeing his father beneath the hood...only me. Lily looked quite heartbroken. "Blimey, mate, your _father?_" whispered James.

Sirius nodded, "He was the one holding me in the clearing."

"Your _father?_" said Remus, astonished.

Sirius nodded. "Doubt Dumbledore's _protections_ will do much good for me." He stopped walking and turned to us. "Listen. If I don't come back at the end of the summer...if I'm not on the Hogwarts Express...you lot have to make sure that Dumbledore and Moody know why. It'll be because of my father and mother." His eyes were desperate.

"You need to tell Dumbledore," Lily said.

But Sirius shook his head.

"Oh, please!" Lily cried, "Haven't you learned your lesson about not telling things to Dumbledore? Look what's happened - us, almost killed - Tutman, dead - Bilius Weasley's been cursed and hurt, and Malfoy's gotten off for everything!"

Sirius flared up, "I'm _aware_ it's all my fault, Evans, you needn't remind me of all that. But if it's information Dumbledore wants...in a quiet and delicate manner...then what better way for it to be gotten if now from _me_ simply _being at home?_ I'm sure I'll hear loads and loads about the Dark Lord all summer."

"At what cost?" Lily snapped.

"If I have to be cruciatused, then so be it!" Said Sirius, "This is more important than-"

"Than your safety?" Lily cried, "Than your _sanity?_ You heard the Dark Lord...they say you can go _insane_ from the curse!"

Trying and failing to lighten the mood, James said, "He already is insane, Evans." A smirk crawled across his face.

"Fine!" Lily said, "Make it a joke, then! Don't tell Dumbledore. Do whatever you want." She turned on her heel and sped up, off through the portrait hole looming ahead of us down the corridor without so much as a glance back.

"Seems like that's always how she leaves us," Remus said with a sigh, "Angry and annoyed." He looked over at James and Sirius, "Must you two get her worked up _every_ time we see her?"

"She works herself up," James answered.

"She has a point, though," I pointed out, "You _should_ tell Dumbledore."

But Sirius merely shrugged.


	46. 25th and 26th June, 1972

**_25th June, 1972_**

Detentions were the _worst_. We sat at desks in McGonagall's classroom, our textbooks spread out before us, not allowed to talk or pass notes. I spent a good deal of time staring off out the window or across the desks in amusement at the curtain of ginger hair that fell from Lily's head as she bent over her parchment, taking notes from her books. We certainly had no lack of reason to study, either, quite honestly.

The end of term had been approaching rather quickly, which meant exams in every class, and we had spent the greater part of the last month studying spells that would've been suited for dueling in the forest, not what was actually being assigned in our classrooms. Consequently, Peter had become a nervous wreck, reciting bits of information from books no matter what time of day it was, or where we were in the castle. Remus told me that even in the middle of the night, he had to wake Peter up, telling him to shut it, for he'd been reciting potion ingredients in his sleep.

Moody continued teaching Defense Against the Arts for the rest of the term, and the Slytherins continued to complain about it in the Great Hall. Lucius Malfoy still sneered at Bilius Weasley, who sneered right back, and the Ravenclaw Quidditch team managed to win their final game against Slytherin, causing them to reclaim the lead in the running for the House Cup, which made everyone quite happy - especially Gwen Jones, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain.

The Great Hall was decorated in bronze and blue for the End-of-Term Feast, and three of the house tables cheered when it was announced officially that Ravenclaw had won. All but the Slytherins were quite pleased with the results.

Nothing more was said to any of us about the night in the forest with the Dark Lord, though Lily continued to implore Sirius to go to Dumbledore every opportunity she had. She didn't seem to be exactly _friends_ with the boys, but they were on better speaking terms than they had been earlier in the year, when Lily had refused to talked to them at all. Thankfully, I no longer was the middleman between the two parties. We seemed to be a lot closer, which made me really happy. Lily even invited me to spend a week of the summer at her house, to which I excitedly accepted.

Today was our very last day at Hogwarts. The sun was shining on the grounds and warming the grass, and the boys and I went out onto the grounds to enjoy ourselves in the sunlight. We stood at the edge of the lake, under the tree where we'd had our rainy day picnic earlier in the year. James and I were having a competition skipping rocks across the surface of the water, while the three others lazily daydreamed in the shade. Of the five of us, James, Peter and I were looking forward to the summer most, while both Remus and Sirius were dreading the break.

Remus said, "It's awfully lonely back home, I haven't got any friends there. I'm going to miss you lot."

"Me, too, mate," said Sirius. "Even our house elf detests me back home."

Remus frowned, "My mum and dad are afraid of me when the moon's coming 'round," he sighed and dragged a stick through some loose sand before him, drawing a pattern. He forced an apologetic smile. "Being alone's just a part of this whole werewolf gig, though. I'm quite used to it, I suppose." He sighed.

"You better write us," I suggested.

Remus smiled ruefully, "I would, but werewolves lack the opposable thumbs."  
"So write us when you aren't a wolf, then," I chuckled.

**_26th June, 1972_**

Alice knocked on our door early in the morning to remind Lily and I that it was leaving day, and that we all had to leave our bags behind to be brought down to Hogsmeade Station.

The carriage to Hogsmeade contained me, the four boys, Bilius, Derek, Alice and Lily. As the carriage bumbled along, we broke off into two separate conversations: the boys and I going on about next year's Quidditch team as Alice told Lily how she could go about signing up for a subscription to _Teen Witch_. The ride seemed very short.

On the platform, we lost sight of one another, the four boys and I carefully sticking together until we'd claimed ourselves a compartment and James and I shoved Archie and Bubo up on the luggage rack.

I stared out the window, through the fog, at the spires and turrets of Hogwarts, only just visible over the distance and gloomy weather. There was a part of me that felt less like I was going home and more as though I was leaving it. It was an odd feeling. I looked 'round at the other four. Peter was already complaining about when the witch with the snack trolley would come as James teased him for _always _being hungry. Sirius was laughing so hard the edges of his eyes were crinkling, and Remus was clutching him, shaking with laughter as well. I smiled at my little family of friends for a moment, admiring them before joining in.

Alice and Lily visited our compartment during the long journey to London, just to say hello. Lily told them she'd see them all next term, and me in three weeks.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross in the late afternoon. Peter spotted his mum through the window and squealed with delight because she was holding a plate of his favourite biscuits. On the Platform, he hurriedly said goodbye and abandoned us in a rush to collect his goodies. Remus, James, Sirius and I faced one another and gave a quick four-way hug, our arms over each other's shoulders. "See you three next term," I said.

"See you," answered James. "Same compartment on 1st September, yeah?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Write me, you three." Remus said.

"Every day," promised Sirius.

"Hourly," I smirked.

"I'm terrible at letters," said James, "But I'll do my best."

Remus smiled. "Have a nice summer. Don't get into any trouble."

James grinned, "Trouble? Us?"

Sirius added, "Never."

I giggled. "Always."

Remus rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, you'll be expelled before you even get back to school…" he muttered as he walked away toward his waiting parents across the platform.

James turned to Sirius, "Don't forget the mirror. We'll talk every night. About nine thirty. Okay?"

Sirius nodded, "Nine thirty. Got it."

James skipped away to his parents. I gave Sirius the biggest and deepest hug I could muster with my tiny frame. "Stay safe, mate."

"You, too," answered Sirius. He glanced over and saw his father standing tall at the far side of the platform, looking quite sour. He took a deep breath, "Only a couple months before we'll be back at the castle, though, that's a break."

I nodded, "It's not so long, really."

"Bye," Sirius said with a wave and he started off across Platform 9 ¾ to where his father waited.

I searched the crowd for my parents and finally spotted them. I ran over, carrying Archie's cage, quite pleased to see them. I rushed into my mother's outstretched arms for a greeting hug, followed by a hug to my father as well. "Was that one of your friends?" Dad asked as he let go and held me out to inspect Sirius' retreating figure.

"Yeah," I said, "That was Sirius Black."

Mum raised an eyebrow. "Are you two…"

She trailed off, but I knew what she was implying. "No, Mum!" I scoffed, "It's nothing like that. He's just a friend."

"I see," Mum murmured. "Well, let's go home and you can tell us all about your friends."

"Alright," I said. But I knew I wouldn't tell them about _everything_.

Some things were better left at Hogwarts, where they belonged.

**Wow. Okay. That's the end of Book One! This sounds unbelievably stupid but I've reread this last chapter about three times now for proofreading and such and I get a bit teary-eyed at that ending. It's so DUMB to get sad over your own writing but, oh well. Thank you to everybody who has read this entire silly, self-indulgent fanfiction! Some people have asked about the sequel (like Sweetdreams), so I'll provide some information to that below:**

**As of right now, I've written about half of year two. However, I'm going to take a bit of a holiday from posting! I'll upload the first chapter of book two in about a week! I'll post an update in this story when that first chapter is out, so you can easily know when it's available. I'm not sure what it's going to be called yet. I want it to be the same style of title as the Harry Potter books (Chamber of Secrets, Order of the Phoenix, etc.) so I feel like I'm going to need to think really hard about what the title will be. Also, I'm going to be designing and drawing a cover for this first book during my week off. It's going to be what all the characters look like in my mind, and I'll upload it to my instagram ( UnlikelyMarten) once I'm done, because I'm sure once it's compressed into a cover size, it'll be hard to see everything properly. It's going to have the marauders, Lily, Sabrina, Lucius, Snape, Derek, and Bilius on it, so it'll be a LOT of people!**

**So once again, THANK YOU to everyone who has read this story. I'll see you guys in a week!**

**Feel free to share your favourite moments, or thoughts about this story, and if you have any feedback, let me know!**


	47. Book Two is now up!

Helloooooooooooooooo my lovely readers! This is a quick announcement to say that the first chapter of book two has now been posted! You can go to my profile and find the book there!

Also, I drew a cover for this first book! This is how I envisioned the marauders, Sabrina, and Lily to look in their first year. If you want to see a version with higher quality you can go to my instagram, Unlikelymarten.

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has read this book! I'll see you all in book two!


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